Dear Friend,
Thank you for your support
and advocacy of o
ur children each and every day. During this uncertain time, your well-being is of the utmost importance to us.
I imagine many are feeling anxious in light of recent events and the uncertainty that lies ahead. I want to reassure you that we at the Guardian ad Litem Foundation of Tampa Bay are here to help our children and families get through the next few weeks/months, remain healthy and restore normalcy to our lives.
You should have already received a communication from the Guardian ad Litem Program notifying you of the alternative visitation policy and the physical office closure for the next 30 days. Your Child Advocacy Manager and Best Interest Attorneys are still available to you and are working remotely. If yo
u have any questions about your cases, don’t hesitate to contact the program office.
Agencies are suggesting we practice 'social distancing', and delaying or postponing large gatherings or events and cancelling schools so that we can make the potential impact of this illness in its most severe form as manageable upon our healthcare system, its resources and providers as possible. This has been termed 'flattening' of the impact curve.
For that reason, we will be following the CDC guidelines and suspending all in person meetings until the end of April. We will keep you posted regarding rescheduling events and will hold meetings online and via phone when appropriate.
Although our physical office is closed,
the Guardian ad Litem Foundation of Tampa Bay will remain open remotely during this time and we will continue to be there for the children and families we serve. We stand ready to assist families by providing for their basic needs as they struggle to deal with the ramifications of COVID-19 and the social distancing necessary to prevent the spread of this virus.
In order to be available to deal with crisis situations that may arise for our families and to follow the recommended social distancing practices, we will be placing any summer camp, normalcy, or tutoring requests on hold until further notice. If you had a previously approved request, payment for your request should not be affected. Here are other changes we are making to help you assist your families remotely:
- Have a basic need request, like clothing, that in the past has been handled through taking your GAL child shopping with a gift card? We can still help! Please complete the request form with child size information, favorite colors, or even weblinks from Target or Walmart, and we can still fulfill your request by ordering the clothing and shipping directly to the caregiver. Don’t forget to provide the caregiver’s address for shipping purposes!
- Worried about your GAL child falling behind in school? While we won’t approve tutoring until folks can sit closer than 6 feet apart, we can still assist in other ways! We can provide a laptop (for children 11 and older) or a tablet to help your family with homeschooling or other programming if needed. Or maybe there are books that can help your family fill free time? We can ship those too!
- Have a GAL child that really needs to expend their energy? Current recommendations do not allow for play dates but outdoor play alone or with siblings is still ok. You can request balls or other sports items that are easily shipped to help meet this need!
Our mail is processed at the Pinellas Criminal Justice Center and will continue to be processed if they remain open, but you may experience a delay in our correspondence during this time.
If you have a question about a request, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at
amyf@galf6.org or
iamforthechild@galf6.org and we will happily discuss your
family’s need and determine how we can help.
Please stay healthy, safe, and stay in touch. We are here to support you during this challenging time.
Sincerely,
Amy
