SIRCH Community Services

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Are you worried about food?

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Do you sometimes wonder how you’ll put food on the table for you and your family?  Are you concerned about the upcoming fall and winter?

SIRCH Community Services is looking to the community to help them assess the need for food in general and SIRCH’s frozen meals specifically.  While requests for the meals have increased dramatically, SIRCH isn’t sure it’s all COVID related.

We are connecting with local food banks, community organizations, and residents to collect information and experiences on the impact of the pandemic as it relates to their ability to purchase nutritious food. We’re also asking some additional questions to try to gather information that might be helpful in creating solutions to food insecurity in our county. Already we have made valuable and meaningful connections in the community, and the research being done will have a greater impact on Haliburton County.

An online survey will help capture issues in regards to food security and whether they are COVID related or not.. The survey is completely confidentiality.  No names or identifying information will be given out. 

SIRCH appreciates and values everybody who takes the time to complete the survey and share their story. This information is highly valuable and will help shape their outreach programs going forward. 

Click HERE to complete the Food Security Survey

Over 1,200 Masks Donated!

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SIRCH, in collaboration with Haliburton Highlands Health Services, sent a call to the community for cloth masks back in April. The response was amazing and be the end of July we had received over 1,200 that were sent to HHHS to be sanitized. Some were kept there for the use of front line staff and the rest were returned to SIRCH to bag and distribute to the community.

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.

Together we have done so much! Thank you for your unwavering support to our community – particularly through the difficult past months.

Will You Help Us Help Others?

Donate now!

Like SIRCH, you are concerned about your neighbours in Haliburton County.

You want to help those most affected by lay-offs, social distancing, self-quarantine and loss of financial security, but it’s risky to do practical things and you’re not sure where to start.

SIRCH has a simple way you can have an immediate impact on those who need help in Haliburton County during the COVID-19 crisis.

Up until now, SIRCH has been making 400 meals per month and distributing them free through food banks, Ontario Works and other organizations in Haliburton County.

Now with the coronavirus, the demand for healthy, prepared meals has drastically increased.

Why?

  • Hundreds of people have suddenly been laid off
  • One-third of our residents are seniors
  • Haliburton already has a 23% child poverty rate
  • We have the second highest cost of living in Ontario
  • Many will not be eligible for EI or other benefits

Prepared meals are essential for those with disabilities, anxiety, lack of cooking skills or resources, and for those who are ill, homeless and elderly. The food banks will do their best, but for many families this may not meet the need in this increasingly urgent situation.

During the pandemic and until our community is back on its feet, our goal is to increase the number of prepared meals from 400 to 1,400 meals each month.

We can do it, but we need your help.

SIRCH has no base funding for this free food program – it relies on donations from individuals, organizations, churches and businesses.

It costs SIRCH about $4 to make one healthy meal. Each comes with heating instructions and a nutritional label. Some meals are suitable for diabetics or others with special diets. Local produce is used whenever possible and groceries are purchased locally.

Please help keep Haliburton County fed.

With your help, SIRCH can meet the COVID-19 challenge: $5,600 per month for 6 months is needed.

Donate what you can:

  • Visa or MasterCard – give monthly or one-time. Call in with your card at 705-457-1742 or donate online at www.sirch.on.ca/donate
  • Via e-transfer to stacy_mclean@sirch.on.ca – send a separate email with your contact information (name, phone, address, postal code) so we can issue you a charitable tax receipt
  • By cheque, which can be mailed to SIRCH Community Services, Box 687, Haliburton, ON K0M 1S0

We can get through this.

In the end, we will be a stronger community if we band together and look after each other.

Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being.”
~ Albert Schweitzer

Some thoughts during anxious times

Our newest staff person, Barb Smith-Morrison, who has joined our CAPC/CPNP team as Regional Liaison, shared some tweets by Emily M. D. Scott. Some of Emily’s points are particularly helpful, especially in times like this when community anxiety is mounting.

Here are just a few of her suggestions:

Your brain won’t work as well.
This week I’ve forgotten what I was doing a thousand times. Stress messes with your sequencing, and ordering your thoughts gets hard. Try to do one thing at a time.

Savor the sweet spots.
It might be snuggling down under the covers when you first wake up or a cup of tea each night, but linger in the moments that give you comfort as long as you can.

Adapt and pivot.
Be as nimble as you can. We’re in a world that looks very different, and our organizations will need to shift to meet new needs. If you’re part of an organization that has a structure set up to serve others, how can that structure reach the most vulnerable, right now?

Trauma will emerge.
I’ve noticed my body and mind shutting down this week, or my emotions racing out ahead of me. We can expect past traumas or current traumas to influence our days. Notice the signals your body’s sending you, and plan in time and energy for this.

Rituals and structures of self care are key.
Meditation at the beginning and end of the day. A long walk. A regular talk with a dear friend. Set up structures that will hold you through this time.

You’re not God.
If you’re the kind who thinks you have to rescue the whole world, remember that we’re in this together… there are people working for good in every setting — hospitals, libraries, schools, grocery stores. You can trust them to do their job, while you do yours.

Update on Cook It Up during COVID-19 global pandemic

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.

SIRCH Community Services update during COVID-19 global pandemic

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.