April 15, 2020
Updated April 15, 2020
With several food services in the Downtown Eastside adjusting their hours and services, reducing capacity, or closing altogether, the need for our weekly Saturday Power Breakfast is more urgent than ever. Our dedicated staff and volunteers are now feeding up to 300 individuals every Saturday, a drastic increase from the 100 individuals served weekly pre-pandemic. Our team serves as many hot meals, sandwiches, and fresh fruit as they can until we run out each week. Our new take-out format has been well-received by our patrons, and we're hoping to keep providing this service for as long as we are able. With social-distancing measures in place, and a desire to reduce outside traffic into the Downtown Eastside, we've had to increase our staffing and resources in order to support our adjusted meal program format.
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Updated March 28, 2020
MP Neighbours, our social enterprise that provides a community watch service, has recently extended their hours until 10:00 p.m. to provide additional support to community members and businesses in the Downtown Eastside during this unprecendented and challenging time. Mission Possible is also working together with other organizations in the Downtown Eastside to support our community, exploring innovate ideas and collaborations to provide the most impact.
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March 19, 2020
Mission Possible is committed to protecting the health and safety of our friends in the DTES community. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mission Possible is adhering to and promoting the recommendations being put forth by Health Canada, BC CDC and Vancouver Coastal Health.
In an effort to increase physical (social) distancing and reduce the risk of infection we have taken the following steps:
- Intake for our Employment Readiness Program has been paused
- Saturday Breakfast meal service is being served take-out style outside the front door
- Our facilities are are not open to those who are not employees or those currently in our program
- Momentum Meetings, Employment Readiness Workshops, and other gatherings have been paused
- Staff who can work remotely are doing so
In addition to these programming changes, our social enterprises are also training and equipping our staff and associates to practice the steps recommended by our health authorities. We will continue to operate our social enterprises and provide support to our participants and our customers until there is a recommendation to pause our services.
In an effort to protect our friends in the Downtown Eastside, we are asking you to help us out!
The most important thing you can do to prevent infection is to wash your hands regularly and avoid touching your face.
To help reduce your risk of infection:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Using soap and water is the single most effective way of reducing the spread of infection.
- If a sink is not available, alcohol based hand rubs (ABHR) can be used to clean your hands as long as they are not visibly soiled. If they are visibly soiled, use a wipe and then ABHR to effectively clean them.
- Do not touch your face, eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a disposable tissue or the crease of your elbow when you sneeze or cough.
- Regularly clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
- Do not share food, drinks, utensils, etc.
- Stay home if you are sick, or if you have been in contact with those who have tested positive
If you think that you might have COVID-19, you can use this online assessment tool to help with the next steps you can take. Let’s work together to keep our most vulnerable residents safe and healthy.