Dear Stakeholders of SCACL:
We have all collectively just experienced one of the most unusual and intense weeks information-wise in perhaps our recent history. Everyone is trying to make sense of it, and we at SCACL are deciphering the messages from provincial sources such as Public Health, Licensing, BC Center for Disease Control, CLBC and others, and are doing our due diligence as a service provider to take appropriate action. Our focus is on:
- The care and safety of our vulnerable population
- The health, safety and well-being of our employees
- Our ability to maintain services
- Communication and support to stakeholders
- Maintaining calm and carrying on.
The SCACL Management Team has been discussing the novel pandemic situation daily and has determined that we will need to go to essential service levels by later this week, however with that being said we will be supporting services as defined below and will do our best to support others who may request it. Some staffing levels may be reduced and we have an emergency staffing plan in place.
Essential Service Definitions:
Critical Service: The most important of services, generally requiring consistent attention 24 hours a day. Services considered essential to the individual’s safety, shelter, nourishment, and medication needs. These services are: Staffed Residential Facilities and Homeshare Provision and both are deemed ESSENTIAL CRITICAL SERVICES
Vital Service: The second most important of services, generally requiring attention/supports within a 24 to 48-hour time frame. These services are: Some Life-skills and One to One Community Inclusion Supports (those whose caregivers would otherwise have a hardship or be unable to provide safe levels of support) Some Independent Living services, (those who are isolated and alone) some Supported Employment services (those who depend on income)
Necessary Service: The third most important of services, generally requiring attention within a once to a few times per week time frame. These services are: Some Independent Living services, (those who live with others) Day Services, Bridges, Supported Employment, Respite
Desired Service: The least important of services, generally requiring attention within a matter of months. Currently, no SCACL services fit this description.
As of 9:00 am Friday, March 20 SCACL will officially start Essential Services, and will be mailing Respite and Homeshare cheques rather than having them picked up at the office to limit visitation.
Those with one to one vital services (see above) will be contacted directly and may have some services modified in location or staffing. We will do our best to meet your needs.
Our Day Program will not be operational per se; however, we may have staff available so please contact us if you will have difficulty supporting someone without our Day Program. We will re-deploy staff to support residential individuals during the day that would otherwise come to Day Services/Bridges.
Our Supported Employment Program will close, however, for those who are dependent on income, we will do our best to maintain jobs and income, and may even pay income in lieu of jobs.
Independent Living will do outreach supports to those who require vital services, however, Supper Club will not operate.
We welcome your questions and concerns, and in order to streamline responses please contact SCACL Managers as follows :
Agency and Provincial Questions, Publicity – Clarence Li 604-993-0399
Health and Safety, Programming and Operations – Xerez Haffenden 604-740-1561
Staffing, Schedules and Human Resources – Laurie Maguire 604-989-7880
Homeshare and Respite – Randy Younghusband 604-740-2608
Finances and Accounts – Sonja Hugi 604-885-7455
The messaging from all levels of public health and government is to stay home as much as possible and we ask you to accommodate this. The province has as of March 17th declared a state of emergency and what this means according to their gov.bc website is as follows:
“Declaring a state of emergency allows the Province, through the minister, to implement any provincial emergency measures required with access to land and human resource assets that may be necessary to prevent, respond to or alleviate the effects of an emergency. This includes securing the critical supply chains to make sure people have access to essential goods and services, and that infrastructure necessary in a response is readily available. The state of emergency is initially in effect for 14 days, once issued, and may be extended or rescinded as necessary.
The state of emergency applies to the whole province and allows federal, provincial and local resources to be delivered in a coordinated effort.”
We are in close contact with our government counterparts and are doing our best to contain the pandemic. We are all in this together and thank you for your ongoing support of SCACL.
