By Richard Rohrman
NCC Chief Executive Officer
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we at New Community recognized the seriousness of the situation and took steps to keep our employees, residents and community members safe. We also know that the services we provide are vital to the communities we serve. Therefore, we have continued operating our programs and services wherever possible.
Throughout this time NCC has continued operating its Emergency Food Pantry and Community Food Distribution, providing necessary essentials to residents in need; the Family Resource Success Center has kept connecting individuals to resources; and NCC has continued to provide its health care services.
Due to social distancing regulations, we’ve had to adapt some of our operations. Staff members have been using phone communication with residents more often, Family Service Bureau began offering telehealth services for clients and education programs moved from classrooms to online.
The manner of interaction has changed in some instances, but our mission remains the same: to help residents of inner cities improve the quality of their lives to reflect individual God-given dignity and personal achievement.
While we remain committed to providing critical services to the community, we also are committed to employee safety. NCC has taken steps to reduce the risk to employees and we encourage all employees to practice social distancing by maintaining a six-foot radius around others, wash hands frequently for at least 20 seconds and avoid touching their faces.
As we continue to operate in the new normal created by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are constantly evaluating our processes and procedures, making adjustments as necessary. We have put additional safety precautions and policy guidelines into place to protect staff, residents and clients.
I want to recognize all of our employees for their continued efforts to provide necessary services to the vulnerable populations that we serve. We will continue to get through this together.