by Womens Recovery Center
April 8, 2020
Like many other essential businesses, the Women’s Recovery Center has made changes to improve safety for our staff and clients. This includes reducing onsite hours and virtual treatment for our clients. We continue to remain open for new clients as we know this is a difficult time for those affected by mental health and substance abuse disorders.
We are onsite with clients who do not have the ability to meet virtually. We are practicing social distancing and taking extra sanitation measures. Our amazing security guard, Al, takes everyone’s temperature at the door and ensures that anyone who enters the building is feeling healthy and well. All clients are still required to submit three urine screenings onsite every week as this is important accountability for obtaining sobriety. Our phone lines remain open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. each weekday.
For intensive outpatient, outpatient, aftercare groups, and staff meetings, we use Zoom. Zoom has proven to be a solid platform for our team and we’ve begun to explore fun virtual backgrounds like Ashley and Carrie’s Golden Gate Bridge in the photo above! We also use Google Hangouts for calling. Overall, the clients have adjusted well to virtual treatment but miss coming into the WRC for group sessions.
Throughout this whole process, it has been eye-opening to see the team-oriented approach from all of our friends, supporters, and stakeholders. The response to our request for non-perishable items, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, and book/art items was phenomenal. We received so many donations for our clients and were able to share extra items with the Domestic Violence & Advocacy Center and Stella Maris. We are also incredibly grateful for several unexpected donations on PayPal over the last few weeks in response to the pandemic.
Our staff continues to amaze me with their flexibility and commitment to the women and families we serve. Many of them have never worked from home before and have adjusted quickly to this new way of life. We have increased our communication and worked through IT issues to continue to have effective meetings that have minimized disruptions to our work.
Again, thank you, thank you, thank you if you are reading this and for your continued support. Now, more than ever, I’ve been able to reflect on the past and current state of the Women’s Recovery Center. We are so grateful to have a strong support team that has led us through 34 years of legislative landscape changes, building renovations, building break-ins, thefts, recessions, leadership changes, building floods, and much more. We continue to strive for sobriety and I thank you for your large part in that.
Stay safe, healthy, sane, and peaceful,
Ashley
Ashley Yassall