Redwood Community Services Building Bridges Homeless Resource Center in Ukiah remains closed to guests outside of the group included in the Dec. 3 Covid exposure. In coordination with Mendocino County Public Health, regular testing was made available as well as routine health checks by the Adventist Health Ukiah Valley Street Medicine Team.
At this time all exposed guests and staff have completed quarantine after testing negative and the 11 guests who tested positive have exited their isolation period. Fortunately, only minor symptoms were exhibited by those guests who contracted the virus, and no one required hospitalization.
The center remains closed to serving new entries in an effort to assess the needs of the homeless community and safety protocols to reduce the chance for future Covid-19 exposures. To date Building Bridges is the only Redwood Community Services program to experience a Covid-19 outbreak. An outbreak is considered more than three positive individuals with close connection to one site.
“While we certainly never wanted Building Bridges to be exposed to Covid-19, we’ve understood from the beginning of this that we are serving a very high-risk population and had planned early on for a possible outbreak. It is a testament to the planning and dedication of the Building Bridges staff that we had gone 11 months without positive cases at the center. There has been much to learn from other similar programs who have navigated Covid-19 outbreaks before us and are confident that our team and community partners were not only prepared for this situation but handled it with care, respect, and sensitivity,” shares Redwood Community Services CEO Victoria Kelly.
Redwood Community Services provides multiple group care programs throughout Mendocino and Lake counties, including youth and adult centered programs. At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic new detailed policies and procedures were developed to mitigate the spread of the virus and outbreaks within all groups served. Safety measures such as telehealth services, use of PPE, intense cleaning and sanitation practices and virtual training have been in place since March.
“We have multiple programs where telehealth and other virtual services are not possible and with those, we are continuing to work with program staff to ensure safety measures are followed for both staff and clients. We continue to provide crisis services, foster care, youth and adult congregate care, behavioral health and other support services but our delivery may look a little different than pre-Covid. We are still as committed to our clients’ health and safety as ever before and are planning for new and innovative ways in which we can continue services,” Kelly explains.
Building Bridges provides a variety of services for the homeless community including a daytime drop-in center providing showers, restrooms, laundry, internet access, and other day to day services to support guests in accessing services and meeting basic needs. Building Bridges also hosts the Inland Winter Shelter open from November to April prioritizing shelter beds for people most vulnerable and at risk on the street. This year Redwood Community Services worked with the Mendocino County Health and Human Services Agency, Mendocino County Homeless Services Continuum of Care, City of Ukiah, and other partners to keep the winter shelter open through the summer.
Building Bridges is also a Coordinated Entry Access Point for the Mendocino County Homeless Continuum of Care’s Coordinated Entry System, screening guests for housing assistance programs. Building Bridges’ Housing Navigators work with people experiencing a housing crisis, aiding them in acquiring and sustaining housing.
“Building Bridges is so much more than a shelter. Normally, roughly 100 people use the center each day, getting showers, doing laundry, using the bathroom and accessing support. The center has been closed to all except those who were staying at the shelter since December 3rd and the impact on folks living on the street is visible. It makes such a huge difference when people can get clean and warm up for a minute. We are exploring any additional elements we could implement to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and aim to reopen to the public as soon as possible,” reports Sage Wolf, Redwood Community Services’ Program Manager of Homeless and Housing Services.
Seven of the staff working directly with guests at Building Bridges received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine on Monday. Wolf shares that this brought some “relief and a feeling of hope to the folks working on the frontline at Building Bridges. Being vaccinated, once we’ve had both doses, will increase our ability to help our folks and be safer while doing it.”
Incorporated in 1995, Redwood Community Services provides services to children, youth, families, and adults in Mendocino, Lake and Humboldt counties. Beginning with the implementation of a Foster Family Agency in 1995 providing foster homes for children and youth in Mendocino County; Redwood Community Services has built a continuum of programs including behavioral health, crisis services, youth and adult residential, substance use disorder programs and youth resource centers. For more information about services Redwood Community Services provides, call 707-467-2000 or visit their website at www.redwoodcommunityservices.org.
Source Article in the Ukiah Daily Journal
