UPDATE 3/17/20
While there are as yet no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the unhoused community, given the likelihood of widespread exposure to the virus in Harrisonburg, the necessity of facilitating social distancing, and the vulnerability of our population, OCP staff have decided to implement Phase 3 of our COVID-19 protocol. We are making a thorough overhaul of our service delivery model, which includes introducing new services in lieu of programs that have been cancelled. The changes are listed below.
Services that have been cancelled/suspended:
- The Friday Lunch Restaurant and Night Out fundraisers.
- All weekly recreational and educational activities that encourage group gatherings, including our drum circle, creative writing, game day, and morning empowerment.
- Unhoused community members and outside volunteers are no longer allowed on the property, and we will work individually to meet their needs for meals and social connection.
Services that have been revised:
- Breakfast and lunch will be served to-go or for consumption outdoors rather than as a community meal to the homeless population. .
- Thursday hours have been changed to 9:00am-2:00pm, and will include breakfast and lunch. Dinner will no longer be available on Thursdays.
- Access to our facility is limited to 10 people for no more than 10-minutes at a time, and only to access routine services like mail delivery, showers, laundry, and restrooms.
Services we are introducing:
- In lieu of our Friday Lunch Restaurant we are offering box lunches for take-out or delivery at the same $10.00 price. Delivery will be free and by volunteers who have been trained to handle food delivery to reduce chances of viral transmission. Please call the center to order and pay online via the Donation page on the website.
- We will be launching a Community Drive-Through Soup Kitchen that is open to anyone in the world on Fridays from 11:30am-1:30pm, which may especially benefit families of children who normally eat breakfast and lunch at school (a large percentage of students in our local system are no longer receiving free and reduced breakfasts and lunches while schools are shut down).
- If you have attended Friday Lunch Restaurant, please consider an online donation in lieu of eating at our Restaurant, to help us continue to serve the community in this emergency. Thank you!
We are in ongoing discussions with other service providers, city leadership, and the Health Department to develop a comprehensive plan to keep the unhoused community safe, and our services will continue to change as plans materialize.
For up-to-date notices, please visit our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ourcommunityplace/.
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