General

SIRCH, in collaboration with Haliburton Highlands Health Services, will be serving as a collection depot for homemade fabric face masks.

HHHS has been working closely with the Regional

Health Unit to determine best practice with respect to this form of equipment for both current and future requirements.  They do currently have sufficient quantities of medical masks but recognize that fabric masks could be a response option when other supplies have been exhausted. 

Fabric masks can also be used in the community, for non-medical individuals who want to be safe when needing to be out and about. People shouldn’t consider wearing a homemade face mask as a substitute for regularly washing their hands and other preventative measures, such as physical distancing and not touching their face.  But masks may help reduce droplet transmissions in closer quarters with people.

Many individuals have already begun sewing masks for HHHS or for other hospitals that have put out the call.  SIRCH wants to take it one step further and make masks available to Haliburton County residents who may benefit.

“HHHS has first dibs, of course, on any masks received by SIRCH” said Gena Robertson, Executive Director of SIRCH.  “But we hope we receive many thousands so they are available to give to cashiers, delivery people, tenants in social housing, people in food services, anyone caring for someone with Covid-19. “

SIRCH will act as a central clearing house:

• Community members sew masks to the specifications outlined below
• They drop clean masks in the bin outside SIRCH Central (2 Victoria Street in Haliburton) (or SIRCH will find someone to pick them up)
• Masks will be re-cleaned and sanitized by HHHS, then returned to SIRCH
• SIRCH volunteers will bag the masks individually, using protective gear to avoid contamination
• Bags will have a label with instructions for wearing and washing instructions
• Masks will be distributed to businesses, organizations and residents who request them.

“This is a terrific idea and of course could benefit so many in the county, exclaimed Lisa Tompkins, Executive Director of Haliburton Highlands Health Services Foundation. “We’d be very happy to support SIRCH’s coordination of this initiative overall and going forward.”

Masks need to meet the following specifications:

• Double fabric, pleated mask design, ideally with dark polyester (or 100% cotton) outside, and 100% lighter-coloured cotton inside. It is requested that cotton fabric is pre-washed (to allow for any shrinkage).
• Elastic ear loops or cloth ties

It’s important that a homemade mask be moisture-resistant, washable and washed regularly. That’s why most do-it-yourselfers are using cotton T-shirts or cotton sheets.

Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, Dr.Teresa Tam, has said that non medical masks (e.g. homemade face masks) may stop you from touching your mouth and nose and could help cover your cough if you are ill or have early symptoms of Covid-19.  But it can’t be an excuse to ignore measures such as hand washing, social distancing and self-isolation. Mask-wearing must be complementary to, not a substitute for, other actions.

Barb Fawcett, President of SIRCH and a talented weaver and seamstress, offers step-by-step instructions for making a mask here (CLICK ON IMAGE)

There are also instructions from the Michael Garron Hospital.

Drop your clean masks in the bin outside SIRCH Central, 2 Victoria Street, Haliburton any weekday between 9 and 4, and on weekends between 11 and 2.

Together we can do a lot!

Update #3: March 23, 2020

At SIRCH, we continue to monitor our programs closely and to provide the most essential programs in the safest possible way. It is truly inspiring to see how our staff, other organizations and the community in general is rallying to help and support this community.

We still are faced with hard choices. At this time we have had to make the decision to suspend the Cook It Up training program until further notice. We have 11 motivated and enthusiastic trainees, and we know that their hope was that we could find a way to continue training while maintaining the safety and health standards that dictate our current climate. Unfortunately, we have been unable to find that compromise, and effective today, the Cook It Up training program will go on hold.

Over the next while, until the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit and Public Health Agency of Canada deem it safe to lessen some of the restrictions around social distancing and social isolation, we will be looking at how we might revise the Cook It Up program so that when we are able to resume training, we can provide more intensive classes that will allow trainees to complete their training in a much shorter period of time with the same quality of outcome. Obviously that depends upon many factors.

We will have further updates about our free Community Kitchen meals in the coming days.

Update #2: March 20, 2020

We are in unprecedented times right now, as we all try to keep everyone as safe as possible. SIRCH has many different programs and while all contribute to the community, some are much more essential—such as providing food to residents who have little or none, and providing a lifeline to very vulnerable families in the community.

We, as many others, have had to make very difficult decisions. At this time, we are putting our resources and energies into programs that serve the most vulnerable to ensure that those who have no income or are ill or have used their resources are able to eat. And supporting families who are connected with us and living in very vulnerable situations. We are working with food banks and other organizations to provide a comprehensive and coordinated response to the needs in our community.

As of today, Friday March 20, 2020:

Thrift Warehouse Haliburton, which is currently closed for re-organizing, will continue to be closed.

Thrift Warehouse Bancroft will close as of 4:00 p.m. today and will continue to be closed. We will re-organize and thoroughly clean our stores, and re-assess the situation as we go along.

After today, the SIRCH office at 49 Maple Ave and SIRCH Central at 2 Victoria Street in Haliburton will be closed to the public. The office will be available to staff but no one other than SIRCH personnel will be allowed in. Some staff will be working remotely.

CAPC/CPNP participants, here and in City of Kawartha Lakes, will be supported by phone and text and we will work with each family to ensure they have their basic needs met.

Catering for a Cause is closed until further notice.

The Community Kitchen is working with the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge Health Unit, to be able to safely increase our numbers of free frozen meals. After a conference call with FoodNet, our intent is to continue to supply the food banks, but because at this time there are no food banks or other free food options open on weekends, we are working to come up with a plan to allow people to pick up frozen meals at SIRCH Central during limited hours on Saturdays and Sundays starting March 28, 2020. That will be done without contact with those picking up.

Ready for Retail will be closed effective today. Our program is based on meaningful interaction and placements. Until we can provide that environment, we will close the program and hope to be able to re-open it and complete the training at a future point as yet unknown.

We will be making decisions on Cook It Up, based on discussions with the Health Unit, in the near future.

“I am very appreciative for the commitment and caring demonstrated by our staff and volunteers both in Haliburton County and Bancroft. I have appreciated all comments, suggestions and willingness to be flexible as we navigate these unknown waters. I also appreciate being in such a caring community,” said Gena Robertson, SIRCH’s Executive Director.