May 14, 2020
Dear Families:
It’s been a long challenging couple of months, but please know that we think of you often and of how difficult this has been on families and their loved ones who have been separated by the pandemic. Never have we experienced such dramatic and sudden change in the provision of our services or the amount of government direction. We know this has been hard for everyone: you, your family members, staff and our community as a whole. Thank you for your understanding, your patience, your questions and your kindness. Your support has made this time just a little easier.
Manitoba Public Health recently announced its first phase of re-opening, which didn’t change much for St.Amant. Over the past week we did however receive some direction that the guidelines had loosened for outdoor visits for people supported in the community programs. In the meantime, we continue to advocate for outdoor visits for people in Health & Transition Services. We are still waiting for information about a reopening strategy for the rest of our services: day services, clinical services, autism programs, child care and the school. The Department of Families sent an update this week that you can see here:
Update for Children’s DisABILITY Services
Update for Community Living disAbility Services
This is a time and situation we’ve never experienced and we will continue to rely on the experts to help guide the process and protocols for opening services to ensure the safety of your family and our team. At this time, our program leads are in contact with our government partners at least weekly, to discuss the current situation and consult about reopening services. At this time we do not have any information about timelines. We do know that services may have to look different. Currently we are looking at the spaces where programs and appointments are held and evaluating social distancing protocols within those spaces. Beyond those discussions, our program teams are focused on continuing to offer services remotely until we receive further direction from Manitoba Public Health.
Thank you for your continued support and patience. We are very grateful for every kind word to our staff, and for every show of appreciation. If you or your family needs any support, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your program team. We continue to update our website with resources for families and links to updates. You can find the information here.
Again, thank you for your understanding as we navigate this time together; please stay well and safe.
Shirley
Shirley Labossiere
A/President & CEO