UCP of the North Bay
Community Outreach Update

July 24, 2020

Agency News

Are you spending time cleaning out closets and bagging items that you no longer need?  If the answer is yes, you will be pleased to know that UCP of the North Bay is opening a new Thrift Center in Rohnert Park.  The store will provide additional revenue to support our programs, a source of reasonably priced clothing and merchandise that supports our reduce, reuse and recycle mantra, and more job opportunities for people with developmental disabilities.  Look for the Grand Opening announcement soon!

Legislation and Advocacy

Hopefully, everyone saw and participated in the Action Alert sent out yesterday to encourage our federal elected officials, especially the Senate, to consider another stimulus that would fund state education and health and human services.  Without this support, we will be faced with significant cuts to our funding beginning in October. 

Our statewide advocacy organizations continue to encourage our state officials to sustain funding for our services, which have transitioned off site, mainly remote and distance learning.  Our staff is continuing to manage production contracts so we have them for our employees with disabilities to work on when we can safely return to our sites.  Employees with disabilities are accessing support from staff checking in with them for wellness checks daily, as well as encouraging participation in our over 80 Zoom classes weekly. 

Cypress School Update

We are reorganizing our distance learning calendar to offer live instruction through Zoom for elementary, middle, high school, and transition-age groupings in the morning hours followed by enrichment opportunities in the afternoon.  For families who have students that have difficulty accessing Zoom, we are encouraging them to brainstorm with their teacher about how to build tolerance to this format for short sessions.  Providing a flexible and adaptable program to meet our students’ needs is what we have always done and what we are committed to continuing.  We appreciate all the support that we receive from the community to make Cypress School a place of growth, resilience, patience and self-determination.

Adult Day Program Update

Gone for Good, WineBev Services, and OADS are preparing Re-Entry Plans that include setting program and participant goals, describing how those goals will be met, where and how services will be delivered, and our health and safety plan for re-entry.  They are also preparing new or additional facility walk-through videos to show at their Family Night Meetings on Zoom.  Our Wellness Committee is overseeing health and safety at all our facilities including supplying personal protective equipment, utilizing no-touch thermometers, mandatory mask wearing and social distancing and installing new items such as touchless hand sanitizer dispensers.  To celebrate Opening Day, Gone for Good streamed the Giants vs. Dodgers game on Zoom for an audience of 41 participants to watch, enjoy, and talk about with each other.