For our frontline service providers working from home isn’t an option. As Canadian governments continue to enforce further measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 across the country, from stay-at-home orders to shuttering businesses, for our devoted staff of frontline workers, every day is still business as usual. And it is for this dedication that we owe a great debt of gratitude.
After urges to stay home and practice “social distancing” the province has released a list of essential services and businesses. All of the industries listed will remain open while all others will be forced to close as of midnight tonight (Tuesday, March 24, 2020).
As part of this provision, we will continue to operate our Emergency Shelters and Supportive Housing facilities:
“Businesses and all other organizations that support the provision of food, shelter, safety or protection, and/or social services and other necessities of life to economically disadvantaged and other vulnerable individuals, including but not limited to food banks, violence against women emergency shelters, homeless shelters, community housing, supportive housing, children’s aid societies, residential services for adults with developmental disabilities and for children, and custody and detention programs for young persons in conflict with the law.”
As a dedicated service provider, we’re committed to continuing to offer services and shelter to vulnerable communities – after all, it’s the under-housed and people experiencing homelessness, low-income families, and women and children who will be impacted hardest by the circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. But, we couldn’t continue to support community members in need without our team, many of whom work on the front lines.
Frontline workers, healthcare providers, and service providers continue their job at great cost to their own health. Just one cough, a single sneeze, even a touch puts a person at risk of contracting this rapidly spreading illness. This virus has already devastated many parts of the world and threatens to cripple the global economy. Locally, the number of COVID-19 cases in Ontario has grown to 588 and 16 new cases of the virus have been reported in the Waterloo region.
Their work entails interacting with large numbers of people every day to ensure the care of so many who might otherwise not receive the urgent interventions they need, especially at a time when the health of our community relies so crucially on the health of every individual.
Help us keep our frontline workers and service providers safe by donating to the YW Kitchener-Waterloo. Your donations help us ensure our service providers have the resources they need to maintain smooth and healthy operations.
