Megan Voronyak – The Link

Date: 3/23/2020

From: Beth Holger, CEO

The Link’s priority has always been and continues to be the safety and well-being of our youth and young family program participants, youth and adult staff, volunteers, Board of Directors, donors and partners. We will be taking all of the recommendations of the Minnesota Department of Health, as well as additional measures, to ensure the safety of everyone and to do our part of slowing the spread of COVID-19/coronavirus.

The Link is an organization that is on the front lines, is open 24/7 and provides crisis response to some of the most vulnerable in our community. This includes youth and young families experiencing homelessness, sex trafficking, child abuse and neglect, and youth involved in the child welfare and/or juvenile justice systems. These youth and young families can’t “Just Stay Home” because they have NO HOME or an incredibly unsafe one. That said, we cannot close or shut down our organization as that would have an incredibly negative impact on the youth and young families that rely on us and for our larger community. We will, however, make any and all accommodations and changes to ensure that we are providing all safety precautions to do our part in helping to reduce and slow the spread of COVID-19/coronavirus. See The Link’s full COVID-19 response here.

COVID-19 has also changed our financial landscape and will continue to do so as the outbreak continues. Areas of concern in funding that we anticipate to worsen with time are:

We estimate that we will see a decrease in 2020 general operating funding by $560,000 based on the cancellation/rescheduling of events, decrease in donor giving and the decrease in corporate/foundation engagement
Uncertainty in grant funding through 2021 (at this time we are unable to estimate the impact of grant funding)
Loss of $300,000+ in in-kind donation items/kits etc (basic needs supplies) that our volunteers and corporate partners will no longer be able to make/give based on social distancing, available items and lack of large scale volunteer events
Hourly Rate Increases between $2-5 for our staff who are providing crisis intervention, emergency shelter, housing AND the additional health care precautions and care for youth within our programs during this uncertain time – through July 3, 2020 will be $205,033
Overtime for staff who need to cover for sick or medically compromised staff – $22,000 through July 3, 2020
We estimate that Paid Sick Time for staff who extend their current PTO will be $15,000 through July 3, 2020
Additional Cleaning supplies: $15,000 through July 3, 2020
Additional on-site health supplies (thermometers, over the counter medications): $11,500 (estimated at $500 / Program)
Program Supplies and Activities to help our “Isolation Rooms” be youth friendly and comfortable for youth who are sick and Activity and On-Site Educational Supplies to help keep youth busy while there is no School: $1,000 a program – $21,000
Flexible Fund to help youth with rent, utilities and other basic needs who have been laid off: $20,000- 30,000
Additional Technology Costs (getting accounting onto Quickbooks, home printers/scanners, additional laptops, etc.): $4,000

We have always appreciated the generous support of our community partners and are even more grateful in these very difficult times. Thank you so much! Best wishes for the health and safety of you and your loved ones!

Donate now and help The Link provide shelter, support and basic needs to youth & families in our community!

Date: 3/15/20

From: Beth Holger, CEO

Announcement RE: The Link’s Statement and Plan for Adhering to the Minnesota Department of Health’s Guidelines by Reducing and Slowing the Spread to COVID-19

The Link’s priority has always been and continues to be the safety and well-being of our youth and young family program participants, youth and adult staff, volunteers, Board of Directors, donors and partners. We will be taking all of the recommendations of the Minnesota Department of Health as well as additional measures to ensure the safety of everyone and to do our part of slowing the spread of COVID-19 / coronavirus.

The Link is an organization that is on the front lines, is open 24/7 and provides crisis response to some of the most vulnerable in our community including youth and young families experiencing homelessness; sex trafficking; child abuse and neglect; and youth involved in the child welfare and/or juvenile justice systems. That said we cannot close or shut down our organization as that would have an incredibly negative impact the youth and young families that rely on us and for our larger community. We will, however, make any and all accommodations and changes to ensure that we are providing all safety precautions to do our part in helping to reduce and slow the spread of COVID-19/coronavirus.

The Minnesota Department of Health Recommendations are:

Cancel or postpone gatherings of more than 250 people
Cancel or postpone smaller events that do not allow 6 feet of social distancing between people
Limit attendance to smaller groups of people less than 10 people who are at higher risk (elderly and people with underlying medical conditions that make them more vulnerable to viruses).
People who are 70 and older or who have underlying medical conditions (minority of the population) should isolate themselves as much as possible. Children and teens are at a low risk.
Stay home if you are sick.
Employers making teleworkers for work that can be done remotely.
Employers staggering work schedules and limiting non-essential work travel.
Cover your cough/sneezes, avoid touching eyes/nose/mouth, washing your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water
Do not buy an overabundance or “stockpile” items such as toilet paper and other items as it then makes it difficult for others to get the amount of supplies they need.

The Link has made the following changes based on these recommendations:

We will be postponing all large scale events over 250 people including our Annual Event that was scheduled for April 23^rd. A separate email will be going out to those who have already registered.
We will be canceling or rescheduling all non-essential meetings and projects (meaning that they are not required for our day to day operations).
We will be canceling or rescheduling field trips and activities for youth and young families.
We will have essential meetings with youth program participants and/or youth and adult staff in places that accommodate social distancing of 6 feet between people and also utilize technology such as our conference call line when possible.
We have individualized program plans for each site based program (JSC, Lindquist Apartments and Passageways along with our shared houses) to ensure youth are able to be isolated if they come into contact with COVID19.
We will not be having volunteers come into any of the programs to do group activities or individual volunteer work with youth until 4/1/20.
We will not be giving any tours of our programs until 4/1/20.
All staff that are able to complete their job duties remotely have the option of working from home until 4/1/20.
We have contingency staffing plans in place for all of our programs.
The Link is taking extra cleaning precautions at all of its locations.

The Link also greatly appreciates all of the partnerships and support within our local, state and national community and is actively working with these partners to advocate for much needed additional resources to support these young people during this time (and always).

Questions should be directed to Beth Holger, CEO, via cell at 612-636-4260.

Additional Information / Resources:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/news/pressrel2020/covid031320.html
651-201-3920 Coronavirus Hotline

The Link’s COVID-19 Update