Dear Families, Caregivers, Staff and the People We Serve,

A week ago we advised that the Coronavirus is in the news and that here at CVS we have taken early precautions such as ensuring that everyone washes their hands when they come into the building and that hand washing is repeated often. Further, we are disinfecting touch surfaces at CVS several times a day. 

Since that time, we have been monitoring the news. In just the last few days the World Health Organization has declared the Coronavirus a pandemic, the situation in Italy has become dire with the healthcare system overwhelmed, the US has restricted travel from Europe, events are being postponed such as the Inclusion BC Conference, the Junos, and the NHL & NBA seasons. Moreover, we have heard that Tom Hanks and his wife have contracted the virus and so has Justin Trudeau’s wife Sophie. Each day the number of cases grow and spread. It has become clear we have a serious situation and it is incumbent on all of us to do what we can to help “flatten the curve” of the infection rate so that our health care system does not become overwhelmed. 

Our leadership team has been meeting, I have been consulting with my colleagues at other agencies, and I have been talking to our Board Chair to develop an appropriate response to the pandemic.

We are immediately implementing “social distancing” policies:

• Reduce the number of people that gather at our inclusion programs location on St. Johns. We are distancing each program from each other and we are creating smaller groups. We are actively going to work to keep the programs separated.
• Sending the staff at our administration offices home to work in order to free up space to move people from our community inclusion programs into smaller groups.
• Community inclusion staff have been instructed  to stay away from places where a lot of people gather (library, community centers, pools, etc.)  and where the environment is high risk because of the inability to keep the areas sanitized (elevators, malls, sky train and stations). Walks in the park and other activities in open spaces are being encouraged.
• Families are being contacted by the supervisors advising them of the changes to the way their family members will be supported and to receive any feedback. It is foreseeable that we may have to ask your loved ones to stay home so it is prudent to do some planning at home in case that happens.
• Special arrangements are being made for individuals with complex health issues.

Further, we also advise the following:

• People who have travelled and are returning from affected areas in the world should self-isolate to not spread the virus. Just yesterday, the Government of BC advised that people should not travel out of Canada. If they do, they could face a 2 week quarantine upon return. If you have travelled outside of Canada or have been in direct recent contact with people that have travelled in areas with travel advisories (or on any cruise ships), please check with the health authority and help us by notifying CVS Leadership (Manager / Coordinator) immediately.
• If you have sick (flu-like symptoms: cough, sneezing, fever, sore throat and difficulty breathing), please do not visit a CVS location or any CVS supported individual.
• If you have medical concerns that you may have the Coronavirus, please contact your medical professional / 811 immediately to discuss the symptoms and inform CVS immediately.
• Please reinforce with the people you care about the importance of hand washing several times a day and not touching their face.
• Continue to sanitize touch surfaces several times a day.
• We are asking families of the people we serve to keep your loved one home if they are sick. 
• Change social greetings to the “foot tap” or “smiles” instead of shaking hands.
• We have postponed all large staff meetings, coffee houses, social nights, pub nights, public transportation, swimming and bowling. Starting Monday the smaller events such as men’s night, women’s night and music are cancelled
• Our leaders at CVS will meet often (virtually) to discuss our response to this emerging crisis. Please know that we are trying to strike the right balance of taking precautions, undertaking prudent advance planning and at the same time not overreacting or invoking fear and panic. At the same time we believe it is crucial that we take active steps now. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.
• Finally, a word to our staff and caregivers. I know that this situation is very stressful for all involved. I want you to know that you are all appreciated for the work that you do to help the people we serve to have good lives and to keep them safe. Please know we are going to do the best we can to minimize the impact of this situation on the staff and caregivers at CVS. While much is unknown about how this will unfold it is important that you know that CVS will be supportive throughout this crisis. Please feel free to give me a ring if you have any concerns.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to give myself or Dawne Windblad a call so that we can address any concerns or hear your advice as we work together to keep everyone safe. 

Sincerely yours,

Kevin Lusignan

It was announced earlier this week that The Inclusive Housing Task Force, co-chaired by Community Living BC (CLBC) and Inclusion BC, is making progress on a number of initiatives to reduce barriers to housing, including:

• collecting data to better understand the number of people we serve who need housing, for a report to be launched this spring;
• creating a public awareness campaign, website and video to equip families and service providers to talk to city planners, council members, and property developers, which will also launch this spring;
• developing a toolbox with planning resources to help families begin discussions about housing, as well as information on topics such as financial planning, renting, home ownership, and developing skills and supports to live in inclusive housing.

Ross Chilton will be leading inclusive housing sessions at the upcoming BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA) Regional Education, Networking & Tradeshow (RENT) housing conferences in Nanaimo (April 16), New Westminster (May 14), Terrace (June 11) and Cranbrook (September 17).

You can join these workshops where you will find other partners in this cause. Visit bcnpha.ca/events/rents for more information.

It was recently announced that Community Living BC (CLBC) is increasing minimum direct funded respite rates for families from $2,800 to $3,080 per year effective April 1, 2020. This is made possible thanks to $1 million per year in new funding announced in the provincial budget on February 18, 2020.

Respite funding is provided to family members who are caring for eligible individuals. It typically funds a worker to provide support to an individual allowing family caregivers time to rest and recharge.

I am pleased we can provide this additional support to individuals and families going forward. Families provide love and support to their loved ones and we need to invest in their well-being. This support contributes to resiliency and benefits all family members.

CLBC currently offers a minimum of $2,800 per year in direct funded respite to all youth transitioning into CLBC services. Individuals and families can expect to hear from CLBC soon about how the new funding will be implemented. If you have a question, please contact [email protected].

Dear Families, Caregivers, Staff and the People We Serve,

As many of you have heard the Coronavirus is in the news. Here at CVS we have taken some early precautions such as ensuring that everyone washes their hands when they come into the building and that handwashing is repeated often. Further, we are disinfecting touch surfaces at CVS several times a day. 

We have been monitoring the news and it seems probable that in Canada the virus will spread faster (community spread) once efforts at containment at the airports have failed. Some reports suggest that community spread has already occurred. Accordingly, in response to what seems to be an escalating situation our senior leadership met earlier today to do some emergency planning.

Some of the actions we have identified are as follows:

• People who have travelled and are returning from affected areas in the world should self-isolate to not spread the virus.
• Reinforcing with the people you care about the importance of handwashing several times a day and not touching their face.
• Continuing to sanitize touch surfaces several times a day.
• Asking the people we serve to stay home if they are sick. Leadership Staff are reaching out to families and caregivers to talk about the people we support who have pre-existing conditions or are at risk with a view to start to do some planning.
• We are asking staff to stay home if they are sick and to take precautions. 
• Change social greetings to the “foot tap” or “smiles” instead of shaking hands.
• Contrary to our mission of inclusion we are asking staff to start to practice Social Distancing in Community.
• We are starting to think about reducing large gatherings such as large staff meetings, coffee houses, pub nights, public transportation, and bowling. For now, we think small groups such as our music night, Men’s night, and Women’s night are ok because we can identify if someone is sick and we can reinforce good hygiene.
• Finally, our leaders at CVS will meet often to discuss our response to this burgeoning crisis. Please know that we are trying to strike the right balance of taking precautions, undertaking prudent advance planning and at the same time not overreacting or invoking fear and panic.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to give myself or Linda King a call so that we can address any concerns or hear your advice as we work together to keep everyone safe.

Sincerely yours,

Kevin Lusignan