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Michelle’s Corner 9.1.20

Everyone Has to Count

The year 2020 has been, to put it mildly, a unique time in our country. I’m sure I don’t need to list all the ways that we’ve all had to adapt or learn new skills or changed our habits to adjust to this, that and the other thing. Unfortunately, 2020 SHOULD have been special for a very important reason that has gotten somewhat lost among the pandemic response and drive towards increased social justice. 

The US Census is conducted every ten years and is a national activity defined by the US Constitution. It is intended to count every single person living in the country, identifying where they are which is used to allocate representation at the national level, disbursement of funding for infrastructure, and generally get an accurate picture of the challenges facing each state and county so that solutions can be developed.

From my perspective as a leader of an agency focused on serving the unhoused, an inaccurate census means less money from HUD to provide permanent housing to our consumers. From my personal perspective, an inaccurate count can mean underfunding schools for my kids, support for roads and other infrastructure projects, and making my voice heard through my US Representative.

Everyone. Has. To. Count.

It doesn’t matter your race, your documentation, your age, your gender, your political persuasion, your religion. You need to be counted to provide Oregon and Lane County the voice it needs to advocate for what we must have for a vibrant, growing community. The Census is bound by law to keep your answers confidential, providing answers only on a statistical basis with no information released that can match your identity.

In the past, US Census workers have been able to go from house to house, knocking on doors to get the information they need. COVID-19 and the challenges in keeping people safe from passing the illness unwittingly have proved to be…difficult, yet if this census returns flawed data, the pandemic will only be the beginning of ten years of underfunding to our services.

But it’s not too late!

There is a website you an visit that can help you be counted: www.2020Census.gov is an easy click away. It really doesn’t take too long to provide the information to be part of this project. If you’ve already been counted, great! Now advocate to your friends and family to do their part, too. 

Everyone. Has. To. Count.  Everyone needs to have their voice heard!

Michelle’s Corner 8.11.20

Change

The idea that change is frightening isn’t a new one. Change means facing the unknown, change can mean not having an immediate answer to a question, and change doesn’t always lead to something better…at least right away.

We’ve all certainly experienced change in our lives: going to school for the first time, or getting married and starting a family, or beginning a job in a new town. This kind of change is stressful but exciting with new possibilities for adventure. There’s also terrible change such as losing a job, a relationship, or a loved one.

But, now we have this pandemic. Talk about change! Whatever your personal views and beliefs are; COVID-19 has changed all of our lives. How we work (and too many have lost jobs), how we shop (curbside or follow the arrows in the aisles), how we greet each other (or DON’T greet each other), and how we all interact (ZOOM anyone?)

Our lives have become more…difficult…one way or another.

One thing we must keep in mind, is that each of us is experiencing these changes differently. Something easy for me, may be life shattering to you. For example, I have a teenager who took to online learning like a fish to water. His personality fits the video conferencing world perfectly. So many other kids aren’t having such a great time interacting with people through a screen: they miss their friends and extracurricular activities. 

Let’s take this a step further and consider how the changes wrought by the pandemic affect the unhoused in our community. The most important thing to remember is that the unhoused are not all the same. They are individuals with unique personalities, needs, skills and experiences that are reacting to the restrictions and challenges of COVID-19 in different ways. It is a mistake to ever suggest that, “All unhoused people are…” whatever it is you think they all are!

That said, some of the biggest challenges are obvious: 

• Access to technology such as cell phones or laptops and then access to the internet and a place to recharge the technology is vital to get services, like telehealth, or to stay connected to friends and family. 
• Access to places providing hand washing, restrooms, drinking water, and showering. 
• Access to walk-in services is all but impossible, most agencies have had to put in new protocol around access to buildings.
• Access to emergency shelter. Due to social distancing, most shelters have had to space out cots; cutting the number of available beds nearly in half. This is a growing concern as we look forward to the cold and damp months.
• Access to places to escape the sun and heat, cooling centers and other public entities (such as the library) are closed. 

The pandemic has amplified the ways we as a community address the challenges of the unhoused and the need to meet people where they are. The pandemic has shown that if one part of the population is at risk, we are all at risk. We cannot afford to ignore our most vulnerable community members. County, city, agency, business, house of religion and community members, let’s come together and make our own change.

Change for the better.

If there is ONE thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought into focus for all of us, it’s that being isolated from friends and family is mentally exhausting. While each of us have a different comfort level with being alone—perhaps we identify as an introvert, or we prefer to work in silence, or are simply comfortable being by ourselves—the need for at least some human contact is instinctive and healthy.

Our new normal of social distancing, and staying at home to keep ourselves and others safe from this frightening illness, has many ripple effects through our lives. Children have lost contact with friends from school, workers can’t chat around the water cooler about what happened over the weekend, grandparents can’t hug grandchildren. Some of these relationships we took for granted and, now that they’re gone, we realize how important they are in our day to day lives.

We’ve turned to technology to keep those relationships alive in some form or fashion. I know I’m on teleconference calls with “Brady Bunch” screens for hours a day with coworkers or community partners, but I’d prefer that to email chains. Not that emails aren’t a valid form of communication, but I need to see faces and read expressions as much as words, hear voices and read tones as much as read capitalizations to get emotions. I need to feel CONNECTED.

Technology has become vital to that human need for connection, and many necessary medical services have turned to telehealth to provide everything from diagnosis for an illness to mental health treatments. Patients and medical professionals are able to stay physically safe while being able to communicate and deal with problems before they grow into something that requires a visit to the ER.

ShelterCare has been able to quickly pivot to telehealth as a tool to get therapy, skills training and case management to our consumers who have needs even if there is a pandemic going on. Our partners, such as Trillium and PacificSource, have been with us as we have found innovative ways to reach those who need us most safely. They’ve been quick to find solutions to unexpected barriers to telehealth, such as PacificSource providing solar chargers for our unhoused clients who have nowhere to recharge their phones. Oregon Health Authority has relaxed Medicaid rules around telehealth to make this form of care more accessible to vulnerable populations.

Still, access to healthcare is becoming synonymous with access to technology which highlights yet another reason why poverty creates medical inequities. A person may have insurance through Medicaid, but still no healthcare without a phone, wifi, a data plan with enough minutes for a therapy session, a way to plug in a cellphone, or a place to talk privately with a healthcare provider. A visit to the ER, hospital stay, or even jail may have been avoided completely if the patient had been able to get help via a telephone prior to the mental health crisis.

Without access to technology, a person is not only physically isolated but MENTALLY isolated from any form of support be it through telehealth or just talking to a friend. Without access to technology, there is no social media, no education, no way to safely order goods online, an no CONNECTION to the world.

The pandemic won’t last forever, but what lessons will we have learned that we must take with us? Technology as a connector is certainly one of them. Access to technology is something that we will have to address as we look at the inequities that face the members of our community. I look forward to working with businesses, nonprofits and other agencies in looking for solutions.