Adjusting to Pandemic Restrictions
Covid-19 has had a dramatic impact on our community, and like many other businesses, Cascade Community Connections was forced to pivot, restructuring our entire model of service delivery to focus on the continued health and safety of our clientele and staff.
Most if not all of our services have historically depended heavily on social interaction, whether it be through a Community Engagement activity such as volunteering at a museum or working in a Supported Employment position at a restaurant. Despite this, Cascade has dedicated our resources to ensure our clients and partners remain active, engaged and employed. Here are the immediate actions taken to ensure client and partner safety:
• Worked with clients and caregivers to make sure the technology necessary to engage and work remotely/virtually was in place. This meant working with local organizations to source donations of laptops, tablets and mobile devices and provide internet service.
• Moved our entire communication structure online to Zoom & Facetime, working in close coordination with clients, caregivers and employers to ensure access across the board.
• Educated our clients on best practices relating to COVID-19: the importance and proper utilization of masks, social distancing, sanitization, hand washing and personal hygeine.
Unfortunately, like many others in the community, some of our clients faced temporary and/or permanent layoffs due to the pandemic. Thankfully, existing internal programs such as our apples for the Port Townsend Food Bank have allowed our participants to continue to hone their skills, and remain engaged with, and in service of their community at large.
While we continue to navigate the ongoing challenges related to Covid-19, Cascade remains committed to our clients and our goal of inclusivity. Check out some of the social gatherings we’ve held via Zoom too see how we have adjusted to virtual social gatherings.
