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It is no secret that across the country and the globe, we are all facing very uncertain times in the wake of the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Here in the Greater Susquehanna Valley, although we have yet to be hit personally with a positive infection, we are all feeling the incredible effects of this uncharted territory beginning to affect our day to day life.
As measures to protect public health begin to pour in, many of us are taking shelter in our homes to try to "flatten the curve" -- but for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, this just adds to the complexity of the situations they were already subjected to. Often, victims of abuse will be forced into quarantine with the very abusers who they were attempting to flee from -- forcing them to risk public safety due to a pandemic, or possibly safety through the abuse epidemic that was already quietly raging in homes across the country.
In addition to fearing for safety, many families are also feeling the stress of the closures enacted by schools statewide. School provided a safety net of structure for families that may not have existed otherwise -- secure meals, educational opportunities, safe settings, and even childcare were all something that families could once count on. Now, right in our own backyards, families are faced with the impossible: Keeping themselves safe, and keeping them afloat.
We are sending this email to reassure you of a few basic things: Under Governor Wolf's mandate, we at Transitions fall under the category of essential. To put it frankly, although we are getting creative in the way we are forced to operate to maintain the health and well-being of staff, we have not, will not, and do not plan to shut our doors throughout this pandemic. We are aware our services are life-saving to many in our community, so we all are working around-the-clock to ensure that those continue to happen, even in these uncharted waters.
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