COVID-19 Updates
April 30, 2020
Op-Ed: A Call to Combat the Painful Social Isolation Facing Our Most Vulnerable Citizens
Social isolation: It goes against every fibre in our being. In fact, governments recognized this when they intentionally shifted public health guidance from ‘social’ to ‘physical distancing’. When we are feeling vulnerable, afraid, alone - when we are grieving - we reach out. We come together in crisis.
The state of emergency compels us to rethink and reinvent what it looks like to be together, but physically apart. We connect with friends and families via social media. We share information this way, and even post our vulnerabilities, and create solutions to assist us with our collective grieving. We connect with loved ones or work via video-calling, maybe fumbling with technologies that are new to us, but learning as we go. That's one of the bright sides, that many of us are learning and embracing new ways to communicate, stay in touch, and be heard.
We are told, “We're all in this together. Stay home as much as possible. Shop online. Go out minimally for essentials.” These are tough orders to follow if you don't have internet access, a credit card, and have to take the bus with your kids in order to pick up your order, if online shopping is even an option.
Suggestions on social media bound: Have a date night at home! Obstacle course for the kids in the house! Build a garden in your yard! Many of us have heeded this advice – the shelves are barren of flour for baking (and doing math), and vinegar and baking soda for the at-home science experiments. Many of our households have baked all the sourdough bread and cookies and have made all the volcanoes. All these suggestions are well-meaning and can be helpful, if you have a home. And a home large enough to run around in. Or access to a yard or safe outdoor space. Or resources to pay for those ingredients. And an internet connection. Or even a phone.
For many in our community, isolation has been their reality for some time. Just getting out to a community kitchen or a walk to the pharmacy is about the most social interaction many have. With those options limited or no longer available, many are forced to retreat even further. Using technology to connect to the outside world requires the means to afford the gadgets, and the literacy to operate them. Many of us have people in our lives to help with that, yet so many do not.
It is important that our government has increased its public ads during this time to encourage people to seek the supports they might need. Call 811 if you think you might have COVID-19 symptoms. Call 211 to find out about community supports. Call the kids help line, call the emergency mental health crisis line, call the domestic violence line. https://novascotia.ca/mental-health-and-wellbeing/ Sometimes people also just need to call a friend or a family member. There is just one problem.
Currently, in order to receive a phone from the province’s Income Assistance program, there is a long process to demonstrate need. You want a phone? You need to present physical documentation that you have some medical or serious health issue that would necessitate quick connection to the outside world. Public Health has already come out and said that employers cannot require doctors' notes for workers' sick time, as it puts unneeded stress on our already overburdened health care system. Why does our system require a letter, written by a health care professional, to justify the basic right of communication, especially when people are being told to ‘stay the blazes home’? This requirement is counter-intuitive, unproductive, and a waste of resources, not to mention unethical and goes against all the evidence that whether we are healthy or not is primarily determined by social factors.
If the advice is to stay away from each other, yet survive and stay healthy by connecting through other means, then those means need to be provided. The rules and recommendations have been murky: Stay home makes sense if home is safe, and you can connect and get needs met. If you can’t, then the advice is counter to what people actually need.
If our government truly wants people to stay put, the funding and supports need to be there so that they can. Non-profits, who are already scrambling to figure out how to keep vulnerable populations as safe as possible amid all the restrictions, cannot bear this cost alone.
One answer is simple and affordable: give everyone on income assistance a phone and an internet connection. There need be no ‘medical proof’ for justification. Loneliness and isolation are reason enough. Government and corporations need to step up, now. The costs to our health care system, our community, and individuals of not doing so are too great. And then when this is all over, let’s end poverty together.
Domestic Violence Crisis
April 25th, 2020
Statement on the Mass Murders of April 18 & 19
For the past week, we have shared in the collective grief, confusion and anger that Nova Scotians – and people across Canada – are experiencing. We again express our most sincere sympathies to the victims’ families, friends and communities. Our thoughts are also with the survivors of this tragedy.
Words like “random”, “senseless”, “unpredictable” have abounded in the recent days’ media accounts but many of us were hearing rumours that the tragic events followed a familiar pattern. And now the RCMP has confirmed what many suspected. The murder of 22 innocent people was rooted in the violence that is, sadly, prevalent in the experiences of many of the women we have worked with over more than three decades. Misogyny, or the hatred of women, has been linked to our nation’s most horrific mass murders including the 1989 massacre of 14 women at Montreal’s École Polytechnique; the murder of 10 women and two men in 2018’s ‘Toronto Van Attack’; and, now, in this most recent tragedy in Nova Scotia. We hear officials repeat phrases like “It is impossible to know what was going through the killer’s mind,” and “The motive remains unclear,” but we do know the patterns and the facts that emerge following these incidents. Domestic or intimate partner violence typically precedes mass tragedy and further investigation of these perpetrators often reveals long histories of misogynistic behaviours and attitudes.
Some may feel that it is ‘too soon’ to be shining a light on the connection between last weekend’s massacre and misogyny but it is an ongoing emergency that must be addressed. Every 2.5 days, a Canadian woman or girl is murdered, most often by a man. Each week, on average, one women is killed by her male partner. The hatred of women that leads to violence and eventual homicide is known as ‘femicide’ and must become part of our vocabulary and we must ramp up our actions to bring an end to it. As isolated as large scale tragedies such as this week’s may seem, there are societal and systemic conditions that lend themselves to this unspeakable violence.
In the days, months and years to come, we will continue to support survivors and victims. And we renew our commitment to working to combat the existing systems and biases that contribute to hatred of and violence against women and girls.
Again, our thoughts and sympathies are with all those affected by this tragedy and we honour all those lost:
Tom Bagley
Kristen Beaton
Greg Blair
Jamie Blair
Joy Bond
Peter Bond
Corrie Ellison
Gina Goulet
Dawn Gulenchyn
Frank Gulenchyn
Lillian Hyslop
Alanna Jenkins
Lisa McCully
Sean McLeod
Heather O’Brien
Jolene Oliver
Cst. Heidi Stevenson
Aaron Tuck
Emily Tuck
Joey Webber
John Zahl
In grief and solidarity,
Sheri Lecker, Executive Director
April 22, 2020
Connecting: safely apart but together
In uncertain times and during crises, what’s most important – in fact, what is essential – is connecting with others. COVID-19, and the social restrictions it has brought with it, has taught many of us how to be ‘together while apart.’ We’ve become more creative in the ways we’re staying in touch with friends and family members - organizing game nights on Zoom, reading bedtime stories to grandchildren via FaceTime, picking up the phone when we’re feeling lonely. We know how important it is to be able to reach out – whether it’s just to hear another voice, to speak with a loved one, to attend virtual AA or NA meetings, or to connect to a literal lifeline if experiencing violence.
During this period of self isolation, it has not been possible for many of the women and families who are supported by Adsum and other women-serving organizations, to remain connected to family, friends, vital online resources, and even emergency services. That’s because they do not all have telephones, or packages that allow for talking, texting, or data. Knowing of this significant gap, Adsum reached out for assistance, and people listened. A government department has given us a significant number of used cell phones in good working condition. Telus has generously donated SIM cards and Talk/Text/Data plans for these phones for the next three to six months. Whether used to call to a friend, attend a video appointment with a healthcare professional or access the internet for news or mere distractions, these phones will help our clients combat much of the social isolation we are all feeling. We are sharing the phones and packages with Shelter Nova Scotia and the YWCA-Halifax to pass on to some of the women and families they know.
We are tremendously grateful to the department that provided the devices and to Telus Corporate Citizenship #AllConnectedForGood, for recognizing this need within our community. They have very generously stepped up to ensure that women and families can be safely apart, but together during this time. Thank you!
April 1, 2020
Clarification Re: Requests for Pop-Up Shelters
We really can't thank you enough for so quickly mobilizing to support people experiencing homelessness during this time - not just those supported by Adsum, but by all of our partner agencies and the newly established emergency pop-up shelters. Because the pop-up shelters have been created so rapidly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, their staff and volunteers do not have the ability to communicate with the greater community. We have offered to use our social platforms to help get their requests out to the general public and we are so grateful for our community of volunteers, donors and special friends that are assisting them in meeting the needs of their clients. We do want to clarify, however, that we are making these asks on behalf of the pop-up shelters and that they are not appeals for Adsum and our residents and clients (unless stated otherwise).
Adsum will also continue to have many needs in the weeks and months ahead and we will ensure that when we reach out to our followers, we will more clearly make the distinction around who is requesting support. Thank you all for so generously supporting Adsum and the many agencies supporting our community's most vulnerable citizens.
March 30, 2020
Request for Laptops for Emergency Pop-Up Shelters
Friends,
We are amazed by how quickly, and generously the community has responded to Adsum’s needs during this time. Your support is helping to ensure that we can meet the increased need for support, safety and dignity for our residents, clients and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you to everyone who has made monetary gifts and donated items, gift cards and more.
In addition to the residents and clients we directly support across our operations, Adsum works closely with our partner agencies throughout the city. We will occasionally reach out to our network of friends and supporters to communicate needs within the broader shelter community. In an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and to provide those without a home access to safe shelter during this crisis, emergency pop-up shelters have opened in Halifax over the past week. Ensuring that people have shelter, food, and other essentials has been the immediate priority. Thank you to everyone who has already helped.
Now that people have settled in for what will be an extended period of staying at “home”, the community is working to meet the ongoing needs of clients. Being able to connect with family and friends and having access to online information and resources is especially important during this unusual and uncertain time. To help folks staying in the pop-up shelters, there is a request for a donation of laptops. The donations may be used (if in good working condition) and in some circumstances, we are told that the pop-ups would even accept loans.
Our community’s most vulnerable people are being impacted in many ways by the COVID-19 pandemic. To help combat the social isolation so many of us are experiencing, we are appealing to individuals who may have an old laptop that they are not using or businesses that may have spare laptops to drop them off at the YMCA, 2269 Gottingen Street, Halifax. Donations can be accepted 24/7. Donated laptops must be in working order with wi-fi accessibility.
Thanks everyone for the continued generosity! Stay safe and keep well.
Adsum for Women & Children Update
As we continue to support the individuals and families in our emergency shelter, supportive housing and other operations, Adsum’s needs will grow and change. We will provide updates on this page and share what we currently need to help us best support those in our community who rely on our services.
Current needs:
We require donations of grocery gift cards for individuals and families we support in our community who live on very low incomes.
We need hand sanitizer (min. 60% alcohol) to help keep our clients and staff safe.
Donations of these items can be dropped off at 24/7 at Adsum House at 2421 Brunswick Street or at Adsum Centre at 158 GreenHead Road in Lakeside. If possible, please call 5-10 minutes before delivery so that a staff member can be available to safely accept your gift. Adsum House: 902-423-4422, Adsum Centre: 902-876-5011
Additionally, we would be grateful for cash donations to help us deal with the extraordinary challenges and demand for resources that this complex situation requires. We appreciate the continued support of our generous donors and community - thank you!