It’s the peak of summer and I’m writing this from my home “office,” outside on my deck. So far, I’ve seen a curious chipmunk and watched hummingbirds chase each other at the feeders. I’m also keeping watch for our resident woodchuck, who was recently banned from the “all you can eat salad bar” in our garden by a newly fortified fence.
It could be considered “a normal working day during a pandemic” but life and work are not normal these days. The CVCOA office in Barre, usually busy with staff and clients, is quiet, with just a few of us holding down the fort each day. However, the calm in the office isn’t representative of lack of work. CVCOA staff are still very busy each day, connecting with clients over phone, email, text, and Zoom. We’re working hard to support meal providers to continue to serve home delivered and take-out meals every day. We’re finding ways to offer classes such as Medicare & You and Tai Chi for Arthritis remotely.
CVCOA received some federal funding from the Families First and Cares Act. We are using it to add staff hours, improve technology for the agency and clients, increase reimbursement for meal providers, and purchase Personal Protective Equipment for clients, staff and contractors. We’re grateful for the extra funding and very aware that it is finite. Our priority is to best position CVCOA to move forward “post-Covid-19” and to support direct client and contractor needs.
We are also hard at work advocating for the passage of
H.611
, the Older Vermonter’s Act. This bill has been passed by the Vermont House of Representatives, and we hope it will be taken up by the Senate when they return in August. This bill codifies principles for a comprehensive and coordinated system of services for older Vermonters and clarifies roles of area agencies on aging and the state. We feel it is an important step forward for Vermont and hope you will join us in advocating for its passage this session.
The hummingbirds aren’t aware that the world has changed. Despite two feeders with several “feeding stations” on each one, they chase each other away and fight to get a seat at the table. At CVCOA, we are proud that during this crisis, we continue to work together with many community partner agencies. We want to make meeting the needs of older Vermonters our first priority, and to give everyone a “seat at the table.”
Thank you for your ongoing support!
