Supporting Individuals and Families in Coping with Covid-19

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Written by: Bernadette Lettner, Registered Nurse

Since November, 2020, the Covid Resource Team (CRT) has been working to support people who test positive for Covid-19. Comprised of nurses, health promoters, social workers, case managers, counsellors, project coordinators, drivers and the infectious disease team at Michael Garron Hospital, the CRT links hospital-based testing to community agencies and supports. Through these links, we can connect with and support people by offering practical resources to manage the unequal burden of Covid-19 infection in Toronto.

The integrated web of people and resources that hold up, and hold together, communities is very apparent when doing this work. Relationships and resources are strained by the physical separation that happens when people must remain at home in isolation or quarantine, but the many places we turn to for help, comfort and care are also revealed.

Through regular phone calls, the CRT provides symptom management, personal protective equipment and grocery deliveries, financial support, counselling, settlement services and a wide array of other services. To be able to do this work, the CRT has developed relationships with many community organizations, including East End Community Health Centre, The Neighbourhood Organization, Health Access Thorncliffe Park, Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities, and the East Effort Fund. Between November 2, 2020 and March 31, 2021, over 2,695 people were helped and new referrals are accepted daily.

We have seen first-hand that high vaccination rates have an impact. Many long term care, shelter, and group home residents in east Toronto have received at least a first dose of vaccine and have avoided the outbreak conditions seen in so many areas of the city. Other areas have seen the emergence of pop-up vaccine clinics, specifically designed to bring vaccination to areas with the highest rates of community transmission. Every single vaccination makes an impact – perhaps the biggest impact we can make right now.

Throughout the vaccine rollout, we will continue to support people who contract Covid-19, and ensure that we move towards health together. We started with a small team and a big vision, and it has been incredible to see how the CRT has grown and evolved. The connection and mutual support that has developed as a result of listening and responding to community needs will remain strong, and the ripples of these care-filled connections will carry us through this wave and beyond.

COVID-19 and the Mental Health Pandemic

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Written by: Stephen Fenn, Social Worker

Since the beginning of the pandemic, almost all of us have been focusing on our physical health and keeping ourselves safe. This should be our focus as we navigate these difficult times of surges, variants and vaccine rollout. However, most of us have also experienced another pandemic, one of mental health.

Mental health practitioners around the world have been sounding the alarm over the increase in mental health challenges many have faced throughout this turbulent time. While we may still be able to access support for our physical health during the pandemic, mental health support, which was difficult to find pre-pandemic, has become even more challenging to secure.

The burden of mental health has also disproportionately affected those most vulnerable as communities living with unaffordable housing found this even harder as they lost income. People with chronic conditions, more vulnerable to becoming sick, were faced with increased difficulty accessing community supports or treatment, and increased isolation due the higher risk associated with leaving home. And for those who face discrimination and unequal access to society, hostility and insensitivity increased. The support mechanisms we used before, such as seeing family and friends, became impossible due to the associated risks.

The challenges of this pandemic will continue. Although a focus has been on bringing ourselves back to “normal,” we also need to account for the mental health challenges and trauma many have experienced. Many of us don’t know how to seek support and how to take this first step. But support is available and, although we have faced the last year alone, we don’t have to do this moving forward. SRCHC and many other agencies have mental health supports available. While our goal this past year has been on protecting our physical health, a focus on mental health is just as important and worthy.

According to the World Health Organization, “There is no health without mental health.”