It's not coming until just after Christmas, but one thing that Nevada HAND senior living residents will be able to receive this month is the new COVID-19 vaccine. Staff and medical staff will receive the vaccine, too. In case there are side effects, half the staff and residents will be inoculated in December, and the other half will be inoculated two weeks later.
Meanwhile, as the holidays approach, the organization is working to keep residents connected. "We're making lots of phone calls," Hamernik says. "Sometimes, just a phone call and talking is helpful."
Nevada HAND owns 4,700 affordable housing units for both older adults and families in 35 apartment communities. This year during the December holidays, the organization is holding door decorating contests and delivering food and treats to residents. "We're fortunate that we still have pretty good weather in Southern Nevada right now, so people are still able to get outside and walk."
The state is not in full lockdown mode, but the statistics are frightening, Hamernik says: "In Nevada, we are in our top COVID time right now. We're seeing 22% of people being tested come back positive."
Residents are cautious. In the beginning, Hamernik says, some would try to get together in common rooms to hold card games when they weren't supposed to. But now they know what the virus can do. "They're really staying in."
The organization tried online BINGO, but it wasn't well-attended. What has worked? The phone calls, Hamernik says. Hand-written letters from a local community group – with single-serving turkey pot pies – also brought a lot of cheer.
Another community group led a puppy parade outside a senior living center. And another came and played music, all things that could be replicated in other communities, big and small.
Outreach continues at NeighborWorks Northeast Pennsylvania, too, where the Friendly Visitor Program pairs volunteers from the local Ignatian Volunteer Corps with older residents who are otherwise isolated. They aren't skipping weeks during the holiday, either, says Mary Endrusick, aging coordinator. "They're connection calls. They make sure the older adults feel safe and have what they need. But they also find a way to provide connection and over-the-phone companionship. So many of our older residents aren't doing what they normally do during the holidays. They aren't seeing family."
The organization's aging-in-place specialist is working with NEPA Aging Network Alliance (NANA) to send more than 500 Christmas cards to older community residents, too. COVID-19 is getting in the way of other plans, she says, but their goal is to make sure seniors know they're remembered during the holidays.
Staff working with first-time homebuyers are trying to do all they can to get residents into their homes as soon as possible. "Who doesn't want to wake up in their own home for the holidays?" she says.
New Directions Housing Corp, a NeighborWorks organization in Louisville, Kentucky, teamed up with Toys for Tots again this year to make sure residents had toys for the holidays. On Friday, staff knocked on doors dressed in Santa hats, reindeer antlers, and facemasks, to make deliveries to 140 kids, from infants to teens.
For younger children, there were multicolored stacking rings and musical instruments. For slightly older kids, there were things to do. "We brought them Play-Doh and bracelet-making kits and lots of toy cars and trucks," says Taylor Guy, director of resident services. Teenagers received items like headphones and beauty kits.
Like other NeighborWorks organizations, New Directions works to keep people in their communities connected during the pandemic. For teenagers, that includes a continuation of afterschool programming in music and arts. For older residents, that includes the occasional BINGO night and help with technology.
Guy, whose organization works with individuals and families at all different life stages, says the organization continues to support students with tutoring and homework help. "They need extra support right now to stay on top of things this school year," Guy says. "Teenagers are really struggling. Not being able to see friends and missing out on some milestones makes it hard to be a teenager when being teenager is already difficult."
Connection is important, the organizations say. Whether it's a phone call, music played through a window, or a handwritten note, little things can make a big difference in people's spirits. And that goes far beyond the holidays.
Further reading:
In Texas, candy canes keep the community connected.
www.neighborworks.org/blog/lighting-up-the-holidaysLighting up the holidays in Kentucky.
12/24/2020
