COMMUNITY UPDATE

Dear AHRC Community, 

I hope this email finds you safe and well.  Whether in times of challenge or celebration, our bond remains strong because of our shared commitment to AHRC’s mission. I appreciate you taking the time to stay informed about the agency.

At the leadership level, we receive daily reports about the health and well-being of the people we support and our staff members. Ensuring everyone is healthy, supported and happy is no small feat – and all of us must continue to recognize the extraordinary achievements of the entire AHRC team. Zoom meetings abound. Our physical therapy professionals are engaging on this platform as is our Day Habilitation Councils.  Our team is actively maintaining, as best we can, social interactions and needed supports.  What is being learned and achieved is truly remarkable.  

COVID-19 cases have stabilized within our agency and are following a downward trend. The excellence of our clinical, direct support, and administrative teams have made this possible. While we celebrate our healthy and recovered residents, we still carry the memory of those who are no longer with us. In speaking with people at all levels of our organization, it is clear that each of us, in our own way, is grieving. It could be for something we have lost as a result of this crisis — a planned vacation, a family birthday party, a grandchild’s birth, a graduation or prom.  Or, it could be the most profound loss — the loss of a brother, father, mother, daughter, sister or friend.  In the coming weeks, we will be reaching out to family and staff members on how best to remember the men and women we have lost and will invite you to join and express your loss as well. 

We know that every day matters, and every day we try to find new ways to say thank you to our team. I’d like highlight the generosity and good will of those supporting the COVID-19 Fund. 37 houses are now able to take a night off from cooking and enjoy a meal knowing that their essential work was being thought of and recognized. 

Advocacy for the next COVID-19 Stimulus package is also underway. Though the U.S. House of Representatives will not return to session, as planned on Monday, May 4, we must make sure our lawmakers our lawmakers understand the need for necessary home- and community-based services funding. If you haven’t already, I urge you to sign this advocacy letter as well as share your support on AHRC’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Thank you for your support and trust in us as we move forward and through this health crisis.  I send you all my best wishes for good health.  

Sincerely,

Stanfort J. Perry
Executive Director