Happy to share some more Good Stuff! Keep the Kindness Coming.
- A Moorings resident who is not able to get to the Resource Table shared her appreciation for 3 neighbors who have been making a point to drop off anything that gets delivered, including leaving soup at her door. She sends a thank you out for the kindness of neighbors D, M and C and finds it so sweet that they have taken her under their wings. She knows that they are helping out other neighbors, too.
Resource Updates
- We plan to deliver Food Bank bags (for those who have signed up), gleaning vegetables and soup at the same time as these notices on Tuesday. This week’s soups are coming from Mama Mo’s as part of our continued partnering with Cooking For Community, which is also helping to support local food suppliers, restaurants and food staff. The two soup options this time will be Herbed Potato Cheddar, made with local potatoes, and Tuscan Kale & Maine Yellow-Eyed Bean. We have learned that Mama Mo’s soups are infused with not just love but also with music, as the Mama Mo kitchen is embedded in a music school. This week’s weather forecast sounds perfect for soup, and we hope that you enjoy.
- We know that some of you are understandably struggling with household chores. A big change is that some of the CARES Act funding has been directed to resources to help with things like personal care assistance, household chores and grocery shopping, transportation to essential services and case management for older adults who are sheltering in place. In our area, Andrea Handel, the Aging and Disability Resource Coordinator for Spectrum Generations, is the point of contact for anyone interested in these and other related resources. You can reach Andrea at 607-4405. Please be aware that you will need to leave a message for Andrea at this number and she will call you back. We are especially excited about this development, which will hopefully provide some much-needed support in these areas. On the subject of laundry, we also know that access to quarter exchanging continues to be a concern. Please stay tuned, as we are working on some options to assist with this.
- Have you lost employment, hours or any income as a result of COVID-19? Please be sure to contact Kevin, Property Manager, immediately if this occurs. Remember that your rent amount is directly linked to your income, so if your income goes down, it is very likely that your rent can be reduced as well. In order for this to happen, Kevin needs to hear from you as quickly as possible, so please reach out to him at 449-0353 or .
- Have you been missing the SNAP-Ed cooking classes with Ally? You will be glad to hear that she has been working on some great videos recently and is happy to share them. If you have Internet access, you can use this URL to watch a granola-making session with her: https://bit.ly/2VEPRgj. Please let Kristen know (295-3317) if you would be interested in more Ally cooking videos during this time.
- Many of you are familiar with the typically long wait for Meals on Wheels service in this area. As a result of increased federal and state funding as well as individual donors, grants and corporate donations, the wait list has been cleared and Meals on Wheels is able to expand their services to more people who are staying at home due to COVID-19 precautions. Meals on Wheels is currently offering temporary Meals on Wheels Service to individuals who are age 60+ and at home as a result of COVID-19 distancing, under the age of 60 with a disability and distancing at home or under the age of 60 with a disability and living with someone who currently receives Meals on Wheels. Contact Spectrum Generations at 1-800-639-1553 if you are interested in finding out whether home meal delivery via Meals on Wheels could be an option for you.
Property Updates and Changes
- This week’s weather forecast also means that it may be difficult to get time outside. One of your neighbors recently shared just how overwhelming it has become to stay in an apartment alone every day, especially on these cold, wet days. With that in mind, while it is not yet safe for us to re-open Community Rooms, we are adding Connection Corners. These will be indoor areas where 2 neighbors can spend time together. Masks will be required in these areas and there will be seating for just 2 people at a time, with chairs at a distance of 6 feet apart. We also recommend that you wash your hands thoroughly before entering and after exiting. At Seacliff and Moorings, there will be a Connection Corner on each floor and at Dikes Landing, residents are invited to use the upstairs Community Room, where there will be 2 chairs. At Seacliff, a lamp that has been requested from the Community Room will also be moved, most likely by the shredder on the 1st We will let you know once these areas have been set up.
- At the same time, we cannot stress enough how dangerous COVID-19 could be to many of your neighbors at high risk for serious complications. Because any of us could have COVID-19 and not realize it, please proceed as though either you or the other person in your Connection Corner already have COVID-19. Again, masks will be required and chairs must be kept at the distance of 6 feet apart in order for these Connection Corners to stay in use. Please use the Cleaning Kits to keep surfaces in the Connection Corner disinfected as well.
- A representative from Ransom Consulting will be onsite at Anchorage, Dike’s Landing, and Moorings this Thursday, April 30 between 9 am and 12 noon to inspect vacant units only. The inspector will wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and take the most direct route to enter and exit the buildings, limiting common areas as much as possible.
- Some of the Bath Housing staff kids have been providing us with valuable assistance during this time of dramatically changed school schedules. This has meant much-appreciated quarter sorting! It also means that Elsa has become the new and friendly face making the deliveries of delicious, homemade soup from Cooking for Community. Elsa, like many college students, is unexpectedly home for the semester and we so appreciate her willingness to make it possible for soup to go home with anyone who is interested in a warm bowl of goodness. You have likely noticed that Elsa is following the same precautions that all of us are, including frequent hand washing, wearing a mask when making deliveries and keeping a distance of at least 6 feet from anyone.
- Another new face is Kirsti, who approached us to volunteer her services doing yard work. We are especially grateful for her offer given that none of the school groups will be able to assist us with spring clean-up this year. If you see Kirsti out and about, feel free to wave hello. Just keep in mind that she, too, will be keeping her distance from everyone.
And, Finally:
- Remember that wearing a fabric face mask is designed to help protect others from you, not to protect you from other people. Please keep wearing your mask and remember that all other precautions are still needed when wearing a mask.
- Another reminder that Bath Housing office staff are accessible by phone/voice messages and e-mail, not text messages. We ask that you not send text messages via our phone system, as staff will not be accessing or responding to them.
- Many residents here are households of one and making it through COVID-19 precautions solo, which for some is a very comfortable way to weather this storm and for some is the most painful, awful, isolating, depressing thing that could possibly be asked of them. There’s still a long way to go. Please keep the kindness going and let us know when you see it so that we can include it in the Good Stuff and help to inspire all of us.