COO Perspective: Preparation, and Coping, through Community

ANCOR members, we know that ensuring the health and safety of the people you support and your staff during this global pandemic is consuming your time and your thoughts right now, which is why we’re equipping you with constantly updated resources like ANCOR’s COVID-19 Resource Center; our COVID-19 State Tracker, which outlines what states are (and can be) doing in response to the coronavirus; and the new DSP Careers page, a one-stop shop for resources you can use to recruit workers displaced by the pandemic who might consider a new career as a direct support professional. 

But we also know that, no matter how busy COVID-19 response is keeping you, the rest of your responsibilities haven’t gone away. So this edition of Connections offers tools to help manage your team through this crisis and beyond. Because life will go on, and when it does, we will be here for you.

That’s the beauty and the power of an association — being able to connect our members with solutions and, just as importantly, with each other. Especially in times of need.

Social distancing has certainly taken a toll on us. There are days when I’ve never felt so isolated and alone (even while sharing a small living space with a partner and an overactive first-grader), but there are also those moments when I feel more connected than ever. I hope that ANCOR’s Connected Community has helped maintain some of that connectedness for you as well.

And while our individual circumstances will vary, this is nothing if not a universal experience.

So thank you. To all of you who have shared what you are learning, as you learn it, we are grateful. Thank you to the tens of thousands of you who continue to respond to our action alerts as we work to influence policy and funding at the highest level. Thank you, in advance, for your patience. We know you are thirsty for information and updates — we simply aren’t able to respond to each of your individual calls and emails as quickly as you may be accustomed to. Please know: We hear you. We are listening. And we’re taking your messages to heart.

This month has served as the perfect reminder of why we named this publication Connections. We hope it connects you with what you need and assures you that ANCOR is here to keep you — well, connected.

Gabrielle Sedor is Chief Operations Officer for ANCOR and Director of the ANCOR Foundation.