March 18, 2020

These past few days have been incredibly busy for Our House as we navigate the recent world crisis, while also ensuring our children and families have the support they need to weather the economic and health-related impact of COVID-19.

We appreciate all supporters who have reached out to inquire about our children and families and identify ways they can help through this period of adjustment. Thank you for your unwavering commitment.

Our House recognizes many of our families work jobs with little to no paid time off and childcare has been critical to their ability to succeed. Unfortunately, we have had to cancel all early childhood education classes until March 31, 2020. We want our families and supporters to know our Advocates will be available to assist families via email during these times. Updates will also be provided via our Bloomz parent communication app, website and social media.

While our education program has halted, we continue to operate our 24/7 emergency shelter and provide families with a supply of household and personal items, as well as meals and access to resources to sustain their path to self-sufficiency. We are currently housing 17 families, and provide after-care support for over 100 families who have exited our housing program.

If you would like to help during this time, please consider an online donation to Our House. Your gift will ensure we can maintain supplies and continue to serve children and families impacted by homelessness.
As always, thank you for your continued support of Our House and the children and families we serve. We cannot do our work without you.

Tyese Lawyer
President and CEO

P.S. You can also donate supplies from our Amazon Wish List. We are in need of laundry detergent, hand soap, Clorox wipes and paper towels. Items can be shipped or delivered to our Atlanta campus located at 173 Boulevard NE. Please contact Marquez Allen to schedule onsite deliveries.

March 13, 2020

You likely have heard from various media outlets about the coronavirus and the new cases in the U.S. and in Georgia. Our House has and will continue to follow best practices established by our child care licensing agency, Bright from the Start, and the Center for Disease Control. We are aware that many of our local school districts have announced closures over the next few weeks. We are in conversations about how this impacts Our House and our ability to deliver quality service. Our utmost concern is as always the staff, children and families in our care.

We are meeting and reviewing information over the next day or two to determine our next steps. In the meantime, we encourage you to view the previously distributed prevention information as well as view below for information about keeping your child healthy at home and our procedures doing so at school.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coronavirus outbreaks in young children are uncommon, and severe symptoms are even rarer in children. Even so, to prevent the spread of illness, we will continue to monitor the children in our care for signs of illness, including fever, cough, difficulty breathing, body aches, fatigue, sore throat, headache, and diarrhea. If your child is exhibiting any of these systems, please keep them home. In addition, we will utilize good health practices such as appropriate handwashing, covering coughs or sneezing with a tissue or into the elbow, and disinfecting surfaces. We will continue to enforce the rules prohibiting children and staff who are sick or who show specific symptoms of illness from being in child care facilities.

For more information on children and the coronavirus, please visit the CDC website. Though the symptoms of the coronavirus are similar to the flu, there is no vaccine currently available to prevent the coronavirus. Infectious disease specialists strongly recommend that children and adults receive a flu vaccination because it can help protect them from various strains of the influenza virus.

• We will keep children who become ill at the child care facility in a separate room where interactions with unexposed children and staff will be limited until the family arrives.
• We will enforce guidelines for excluding children with infectious diseases from attending the child care facility. If your child is not at school due to illness, please inform the child’s teacher. If you do not contact the teachers, they will contact you to gather information regarding your children’s absence. Children can return to school after being fever free for 24 hours without medication. During this time of concern, we will require a doctor’s note (or approval from an administrator if a note cannot be obtained) to return to school. We will practice daily health checks of children and adults each day for illness. Teachers will inquire about children’s health upon arrival at school. They will also perform a general health check and only take temperatures if needed.
• We will ensure that staff members who are ill remain home or are sent home if they become ill during the day.

These procedures for proper handwashing can reduce the spread of germs:

• Wet your hands with clean running water and then lather them with soap; don’t miss the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
• Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds (about the time it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice).
• Finally, rinse your hands thoroughly with clean, running water. Dry them with a paper towel, use the towel to turn off the faucet, then dispose of the towel in a trash receptacle.

The following links provide more information about flu prevention and about the coronavirus:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Georgia Department of Public Health
• Healthy Children: American Academy of Pediatrics

Finally if you suspect illness including the Flu or Coronavirus· Visit your primary care doctor or pediatrician as a first line of defense before visiting an emergency department or urgent care center.