By Jamie Speka
While the days and even weeks continue to bleed together and the sun captures inland Mendocino towns in tantalizing sunlight, the county tentatively moves towards the next phase of reopening. Citizens begin to gradually dip into open parks and restaurants once again crack their doors open. Though these slow reopenings leave the county with a sense of optimism, health officials have urged caution as the formidable disease, the coronavirus, is not yet extinct. With these new measures in place, citizens look to those bearing the weight of the county on their backs: essential workers. And beside them, those aiding them in their efforts: volunteers.
Across Lake and Mendocino Counties, North Coast Opportunities’ volunteers are taking action.
“NCO Volunteer Network is accustomed to working with County officials and nonprofit agencies in times of disaster. Placing community members who want to help in rewarding volunteer positions is what we do” states Volunteer Network Program Director, Rebecca Enberg. The long list of support that NCO volunteers are providing at this disastrous time includes providing volunteers to assist the City of Ukiah and Public Health in both Lake and Mendocino counties, for mass testing and medical care. Specifically in Mendocino, the NCO Volunteer Network is directly involved with recruiting professional medical volunteers for placement with Public Health. COVID-19 surveillance test sites with the City of Ukiah took place May 12 and 14 behind the Ukiah Civic Center and May 20 and 21 at Mendocino College. A total of 16 volunteers, a combination of CERT Team Members and Mendocino County community volunteers, assisted with traffic control, health screening, paperwork, and the kit assembly.
“NCO Volunteer Network supports the community in a variety of ways, whether through the disaster preparedness programs such as CERT and LISTOS, to provide the community with information of disaster/emergency preparation and training provided by volunteers, or emotional support programs, to tax preparation” says Yvette Magallon, the Program Coordinator at the Volunteer Network.
When NCO’s doors closed and workers began the stark transition from a hands-on office setting, to remote work, the disaster response volunteer team took action. The Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) has already been in effect in Mendocino and Lake counties to prepare for disasters such as fires and earthquakes. With the volunteers already adequately trained for emergency procedures, the transition to providing significant support for the two counties was swiftly handled.
Tara and her husband Bill Gabe took the training after years of wildfires, flooding, and watching for the next powerful earthquake.
“We thought it might be good training in case of a major disaster,” says Tara Gabe. “And it was! It taught us what to do to protect our families and loved ones, and how to protect ourselves so that we could help others during a disaster.”
The NCO Volunteer Network subsequently asked the two if they would be interested in becoming part of the team to help in disasters locally and elsewhere, to which they both agreed.
“Our first emergency call came during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been asked to help deliver food for the Community Food Bank. Emergency assistance comes in many forms, not all of them are high profile, but when you are hungry and can’t leave due to the shelter in place order or the lack of transportation, getting food becomes a real problem and can be life-threatening”, Gabe maintains.
The inability to receive food has unexpectedly crept into individual’s lives as many are now facing even more adversity during a pandemic. In the wake of an economic plummet and halting agricultural production, less food is available to those in need. According to the World Food Program (a United Nations Agency), grim projections see an additional 130 million individuals around the world being pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020, adding to an already insurmountable 135 million. Accordingly, those more vulnerable to the seemingly unremittable virus, fear the risk of leaving their homes. NCO volunteers were quick to notice these fast-moving factors.
“We glove and mask up, and with transportation by Lake Transit [as Lake Transit offered to support the food delivery] we deliver food to folks on the list provided. It feels good when someone you help says they feel blessed!” Gabe explains.
The Gabes both plan to expand their training by taking first aid classes to further help in the future. The two assist in teaching others about the importance of having their voice heard as they work to help some receive radio licenses. In an age of flooding information, they believe communication is key.
“Communication is essential in emergencies and that is another way we can help out. The other thing we learned through CERT is to be in communication with our neighbors, especially the elderly or those who live alone. We always check in with our neighbors so that they know we are always here to help” Gabe comments.
Adding to the distribution of food in the county, CIRE, a San Diego based commercial investment Real Estate Company, owner of the Pear Tree Shopping Center, has launched Feed the Leads, a campaign to provide essential workers through Ukiah with complimentary meals provided by Pear Tree Center restaurants at this time. The initiative is an opportunity to financially support local restaurants while rallying behind medical professionals and first responders, who are working overtime to meet the needs of patients affected by the virus. Workers at Mountain View Assisted Living and City of Ukiah offices received delivered lunches from restaurants such as Smoothies Galore and Super Taco to continue working through this pandemic. Not only does this benefit essential workers, but local restaurants facing declining sales are supported through these distributions. Feed the Leads has been brought to Ukiah by the help of NCO volunteers.
“We had the wraps and salad today and it was amazing. They had about seven different choices of wraps to choose from and a nice fresh green salad. Thank you so much for setting that up for the bank” The Savings Bank of Mendocino announced to NCO after receiving their meals from Smoothies Galore.
Once more volunteers came forward to show their support, food delivery became adequately staffed and the volunteer network moved to providing support to volunteer mask makers through delivering donated fabric and transporting completed masks to areas of need. Moreover, the NCO Volunteer Network’s programs modified ways in which volunteers can still provide their services while social distancing. The VITA tax program, which has been providing free tax services for low-income individuals continues to organize ways to support clients through social distancing measures. Tax volunteers meet clients in their cars and support them without breaking a barrier.
Additionally, a new NCO Volunteer Network program, The Senior Companion Caller has teamed up with Mendocino County’s RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) and Meals on Wheels (Plowshares), to provide a phone visit each week to seniors who are recipients of Meals on Wheels. Due to the ongoing shelter in place order, residents in senior communities can not receive visits. The NCO volunteers now chat on the phone with seniors to help them feel safe during these times of strife.
“Calls from a friend helps them feel less lonely,” says NCO Program Coordinator Bonnie Schoefer.
Strict self isolation across the state of California has been fueling deep loneliness amongst populations of seniors already struggling with this feeling. When lonely cortisol, a stress hormone, is heightened it can impair cognitive performances. Studies suggest that Alzeihmers disease progresses and chances of heart disease increases (according to Lauren Shumacker at Insider.com). NCO’s volunteers are on the phones with seniors for hours to try to add a layer of connection.
“The work we do at NCO Volunteer Network is always rewarding because volunteers are a necessary and valuable resource in every community throughout the world” says Enberg. “We work directly and indirectly with the management of approximately 1,000 volunteers in Lake and Mendocino Counties, and they are all an incredible inspiration to staff.”
In a time where volunteers are critical, some are choosing to stay out of risk (with many of NCO’s volunteers aligning with the more vulnerable age groups). Thankfully with the help of local volunteers already working, NCO is recruiting a multitude of new volunteers. The work is aiming to support multiple platforms in the community to allow for safe protected citizens while stimulating local businesses. This mush of volunteering strategies aims to build the community up and as the pressing emergency disorients individuals. This pandemic, not only has brought the community closer together, but NCO programs together in meeting the needs of Lake and Mendocino County communities. In a post-coronavirus era, this is something that the NCO Volunteer Network will keep in mind. Though Enberg mainly emphasizes the work of their volunteers.
“I believe a post-corona era will come with increased compassion and sense of personal responsibility for each other’s well-being, and an appreciation for the importance supporting local business” says Enberg.
These volunteers, she believes, are helping that prediction fly.
"network" - Google News
May 31, 2020 at 08:28PM
https://ift.tt/36KrUba
NCO Volunteer Network supports the community - Ukiah Daily Journal
"network" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2v9ojEM
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment