Dear Imagine friends and family,
I am writing this on New Year’s Eve, confident in the sure and certain hope that 2020 will end as scheduled and you will be reading this in a new and worthier year. If you are reading this, we made it, y’all.
There will be an unusual amount of news this month, so the format will be changing for this issue. Instead of the usual columns, we will have three focused on the COVID pandemic: an update on cases at Imagine, a section on the vaccination program, and Patty’s HR column will be dedicated to continuing prevention, even as the vaccine nears and after it arrives. We also have some things and people to celebrate and we’ll sure do that too.
Right now, by the Monterey Bay, we’re continuing to experience the highest number of cases of the pandemic. At Imagine, we made it through Thanksgiving without a confirmed case of COVID-19 but have since had 11 staff and 3 clients test positive. More on the details in the newsletter but we want to reiterate how important it is that we all stay very very careful. And how grateful we are to all of you that things are going this well. One special thing we are grateful for is that the majority of clients and coworkers whose teams have been affected by COVID have not contracted it. That really validates all the precaution and care you all take.
During the pandemic, Imagine has been holding monthly telemeetings with family members and conservators of people we serve. The next is planned for January 27th at 4 PM. This is an opportunity to discuss topics on your mind and ask questions, but, for the recent several meetings it has primarily been a conversation about the pandemic and something financial. If you would like to participate, you are welcome. Let Lili know and she’ll see you get the information you need to connect.
The Self-Determination Independent Facilitator’ Network which Imagine founded in partnership with our local State Council on Developmental Disabilities Regional Office now includes more than 100 members statewide thanks to the magic of Remote Everything. The next meeting of the group will be this Wednesday, January 6 at 11 PM. The group has also begun a series of monthly “Meet and Greet” Zoom meetings for individuals and families in or considering self-determination. The group has not gotten super good at proactively scheduling the Meet and Greets, so if you are interested, please email me and I’ll let you know when it is scheduled. For both, I can also provide the links as soon as they appear.
As ever, if you have any questions, feedback or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can write me here. I look forward to hearing from you.
Gratefully yours,
Doug