CHNA 20 BLOG
My name is Karen Peterson and I am the Community Benefits Coordinator for South Shore Health and co-chair of the CHNA 20 Executive Committee.
Tell us how partnering with the Blue Hills Community Health Alliance (CHNA 20) has changed your work for the better.
Partnering with CHNA 20 has been extremely impactful for me in my work as it has given me the opportunity to establish relationships with like-minded people and organizations.
My name is Katelyn Szafir. I am the Associate Executive Director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy and in Hanover.
Tell us how partnering with the Blue Hills Community Health Alliance (CHNA 20) has changed your work for the better.
The CHNA 20 has really helped myself and the YMCA realize that individuals are at different parts of their journey, and that we are here to support them fully, whatever that may be.
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, CHNA 20 has been highlighting the stories of our community partners and their heroic efforts to continue serving their clients despite the many challenges presented by the pandemic. As an organization that strives to make meaningful connections between agencies to improve public health outcomes in the long term, we feel it’s vitally important for us to take some time to step back and examine the lessons that have been learned during this time. What has worked well? What surprising insights have agencies had due to changing their models? What do community partners want to take forward with them into a “new normal” that will hopefully change public health for the better?
Throughout the height of the pandemic, the South Shore YMCA became an extension of other community agencies to help stretch capacity and provide resources to those in need. Although their facilities were closed to the public until early July, they were able to utilize the buildings in other ways to help fill critical service gaps.
As challenging as COVID-19 has been for the average person navigating lock downs, social distancing and concerns about personal and public health, it’s been much more difficult for those who don’t have stable housing. Father Bill’s & MainSpring (FBMS) has been on the front lines with people experiencing homelessness during the crisis, working to adapt their own models to ensure everyone’s safety during a critical time.
