Dear PSWs & Homemakers:
Outside it’s starting to look and feel like the holidays, but this isn’t the holiday season we wanted. COVID-19 is still gripping us. At the tail-end of a long, hard year, we’re still working – you’re still working.
You are still wearing and managing your PPE. You are still bringing your clients the care they need. You are still making all your appointments, even though the journey to see your clients now is often cold and dark.
During the recent fire at 6250 Bathurst, where hundreds of our clients live, Circle of Care PSWs demonstrated their devotion yet again. Some of you may know, a fellow PSW happened to be in the building during the fire. After caring for her clients, she checked in on many, many others – navigating the dark in a 14 storey building with no elevator service. This does not surprise me at all. This is what you do.
Like me, you may have seen history being made on TV this week, as the first person in Ontario received the COVID-19 vaccine. It was even more moving to see that first vaccine was administered to a PSW in Toronto. To me, this was appropriate and welcome. It underscores the critical importance of the work you do, and recognizes the risks you have faced while doing it.
This will not be an easy season. I fear the next few months will test us yet again. Our clients need you more than ever as they navigate this winter. They will feel more isolated and their needs may be greater.
But there is hope. Science is coming to save the day. By spring, I hope all PSWs will have the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and become protected.
In the meantime, I’m here to remind you – you are the light in the dark for your clients. Your visits and your care are getting your clients through this. By keeping people healthy and independent in their own homes, you are saving lives.
Even if this is not the holiday season you wanted, I hope it’s warm and peaceful. I hope you get a well-deserved rest. We are with you. We appreciate you. Your clients appreciate you. All over this city, there are people enjoying their health and their homes thanks to you.
I wish you, your family and friends the best of the season. Take care of yourselves too – you deserve it.
Sincerely,
Carey Lucki, CEO