Are you wondering what some Town of Newmarket staff is doing during the new normal of working from home and staying inside as much as possible to slow the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19?
Three town employees from the recreation and customer service departments came up with the idea to make random surprise calls to local seniors who have been shut out of the Newmarket Seniors’ Meeting Place at 474 Davis Dr. since March 13, when the town closed a majority of its public facilities "out of an abundance of caution" to slow the spread of the emerging respiratory disease.
Closure of the municipal office, the town’s operations centre, playgrounds and the local dog park, and businesses deemed non-essential soon followed.
Where at all possible, town staff transitioned, like others in the community, to work from home. Some staff have now been redeployed to areas where residents need more support than usual, Mayor John Taylor said.
One of those employees is Jason Malone, who is the recreation programmer at the 20,000-square-foot centre that offers a variety of social events to adults aged 55 and over.
He and two colleagues, Denise Cooke and Kimberly Maier-Downing, initiated the Let’s Stay Connected program to make social telephone calls to the 1,406 seniors’ meeting place members to say a friendly hello, ask how they are doing, and connect them to any supports and services they may need during this time of physical distancing and self-isolation.
“I have made a number of calls already and have found everyone seems to be handling the situation quite well,” said Malone. “Typically, we talk about how each of our families is coping and what we are doing to stay busy.”
So far, everyone has a system in place for how to handle the need for groceries and supplies, said Malone.
“One lady, who was a child during the Second World War, commented how she saw this coming and stocked up on supplies early in order to get ahead of the need to both isolate but still be able to feed yourself,” he said. “Everyone has shown resilience, which is a great lesson for us all to learn from.”
About 18 seniors have opted-in to receive the social calls, but Malone expects that number to rise as awareness about the program grows.
Normally, Malone coordinates a wide variety of recreational programs, events, and bus trips, for the seniors, which significantly contribute to a person’s mental and physical well-being, he said.
“Our 1,400-plus members do not currently have the opportunity to get together with friends to socialize and participate in their programs,” Malone said. “We have had a very positive response to the new program, not only by those who have opted in but also by those who have indicated that while they have a strong support circle to rely on, they know it will be an important program for their peers who may not be in the same situation.”
And beginning this week, Meeting Place seniors will receive an email bulletin filled with information to encourage laughter, challenge the mind, and inspire perseverance, Malone said.
Sections will include trivia, puzzles and games, jokes, recipes, fitness information, community resource information, and virtual tour suggestions.
“For a number of topics, members have been recruited and will contribute material, which will not only help the project and others but will help those individuals positively pass their time, as well,” Malone said. “We know this is a difficult time, and we want to stay connected, support and encourage older adults in the community to live the best they can.”
“We will get through it, and this is one way we know we can help,” he added.
Taylor, himself, said his job as the town’s top political leader is “almost 100 per cent different than a month ago”, as are so many people in the community.
He’s hearing from up to 10 times the number of residents with calls and emails, many of whom are struggling, concerned, panicking, out of work, needing support, and food.
“I’m incredibly proud of Jason, Denise and Kimberly for taking this initiative, but I’m just proud of all our staff because they’re all instantly saying, ‘What can I do to support the community’?” Taylor said.
“They’re responding in incredible ways. And everybody at every level is saying what can we do in any way to — safely, of course — help out. They’re stepping up and saying we’ll do whatever we can to support our community,” Taylor added.
Councillor Jane Twinney, who sits on the Meeting Place advisory board, is also involved with the calls to seniors initiative, and she and other councillors are also picking up the phone to ask what Newmarket’s seniors need as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds.
For more information and to add yourself to the Let’s Stay Connected or email bulletin programs, call 905-953-5325 or visit online here.
