FCHC’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic As the global pandemic took root in the United States late in the first quarter of 2020, FCHC’s overriding concern quickly became the health and safety of the residents at Winter Hill Apartments. As an affordable property which serves only senior citizens, its residents suddenly became vulnerable. In addition, the isolation resulting from the required lock-down procedures took a mental health toll on our residents. In close coordination with the RSC at Winter Hill, Dong Bui, FCHC retooled the resident services programs in order to provide the residents of Winter Hill with accurate information about the pandemic and how to keep themselves and each other safe. Services provided to residents throughout the pandemic included daily check-ins with every resident (either via phone call or video chat), assistance with unemployment applications and other benefit enrollments on offer from the state and federal government, distribution of masks, food, and other supplies to nearly every single resident of Winter Hill, and referrals for residents requiring medical or mental health professionals. Existing programming was continued via virtual means where possible, as with Winter Hill’s very popular yoga classes. In Winter Hill’s hour of need, the citizens and business of Falls Church stepped up and showed the difference that a tight-knit community can make. From individual donations of food, supplies, gift cards, masks, face shields, and more, to hot meals from local businesses delivered straight to residents, the City of Falls Church demonstrated deep and abiding care during an incredibly difficult and stressful period. Local partners in these efforts, including but not limited to Better Together Falls Church, Temple Rodef Shalom, the Vietnamese community of Falls Church, McLean Baptist Church, and the Knights of Columbus, demonstrate the benefits of deep involvement with the local community and stakeholders. Although the Covid-19 pandemic certainly dominated the headlines and our resident services efforts, 2020 also provided FCHC’s residents will opportunities to participate in important civic activities as well as in-person programming when available. The always popular yoga program continued to be offered in early 2020, and residents were delighted to celebrate the Lunar New Year in January. 2020 was an important year for our residents’ civic responsibilities: Winter Hill’s Resident Service Coordinator assisted residents in the completion of both 2020 Census and voter registration forms while distributing voter information pamphlets to all interested residents. In total, 17 residents filled out their Census form with assistance from our RSC, while almost every resident participated in our voter registration and education programs.
FCHC | Fiscal Year 2020 Annual Report
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