UPDATED: 3/31/2020

To Our Valued Community Members,

There is no higher priority than safeguarding the wellbeing of our beloved clients, staff, volunteers, students, board and all of their respective families. Like everyone, we’ve been actively following the progression of COVID-19 in Maine, in other parts of the country, and across the globe. Following guidance from local, state, and federal authorities regarding measures that best promote public health—we’ve come to a very difficult decision to temporarily suspend all drop-in, visitation, and drop-off of in-kind donations until further notice. All of our essential life-saving programs will continue to the best of our ability in a modified delivery.

What does this mean?

Facilities

· Our Shelter Campus (169 Old County Road) is temporarily closed to volunteers, visitors and donors.

· Our donation center currently closed. We will keep you posted when we are able to accept in-kind donations again.

· The Landing Place teen center is closed until until further notice.

Critical Services:

· All our resources are mobilized to ensure the current and increasing client needs are met.

· We continue to provide emotional support to our teens and families via online and phone connectivity.

· Urgent health and mental-health needs continue to be addressed on a case by case basis.

· We continue to support the navigation of urgent shelter and housing needs on a case by case basis.

· We have set up an outbound system to provide clients with critical deliveries of food and supplies including basic hygiene and cleaning items.

· KCHC takes seriously our contribution to protecting public health. Our leadership is working at the statewide level to inform around current and anticipated urgent need.

During this time, it is essential that each of us practice simple, preventative measures as recommended by the CDC available here. We continue to advise our staff on recommended personal hygiene and social distancing techniques and increase sanitation to inhibit the spread of virus as much as possible at all of our locations. We ask that if you are ill, please self-quarantine. If you or someone you know has no safe place to go to self quarantine—please call us and we'll do our best to assist and support.

Knox County Homeless Coalition staff continues to closely monitor the situation and assess the need during this temporary closure. We will communicate any changes to the community via our site: homehelphope.org, email newsletter: https://www.homehelphope.org/contact, and though Facebook @knoxcountyhomelesscoalition/hospitalityhouse and @thelandingplaceme. If you have not followed our page(s) or signed up for our email list please do so now. Should you have any questions you can also contact us via email at info@homehelphope.org, or message us through Facebook. Our team will try to respond to inquiries in a timely manner.

We are dedicated to supporting a safe, healthy community both mentally and physically. We appreciate your understanding and your patience during this time. We are looking into options for developing creative ways to serve our homeless and recently-housed families and support those who depend on us from a distance.

We want to thank and recognize our exceptional client care teams and all of our staff for their dedication during these uncertain times. As difficult as this uncertainty is for the general population with resources at their disposal, it is exponentially more difficult for many of the individuals we serve who do not have a home to self-quarantine in or the resources to feel “stocked up” for the long haul. Many of them also have underlying health concerns which put them at greater risk for the disease, and the mental strain of the anxiety and the depression that comes with isolation on top of the trauma of homelessness can be devastating. As such, our essential life-saving services will be called on more than ever during this time. So, as we proceed and fully support our team and the community, we ask that you support KCHC in any way you can at this time, with your generosity and kindness as you always have and with your patience as we all navigate the changes ahead.

I want to help.

In the weeks ahead, though we will be faced with challenges—we also face a unique opportunity. Like many organizations across the country and the state we believe in the power of positive human relationships, so while distancing is difficult, let's rise to the occasion and find new ways to support one another with home, help and hope. Please check in on your neighbors and friends through calls and texts. The way we care for each other today exemplifies our true strength of character for tomorrow.

Stay well and thank you for all you do to support our community.

Steph Primm

COVID-19 Update for Our KCHC Family