Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

This week (1-7th June 2021) marks Volunteers Week in the UK, an opportunity to celebrate and thank volunteers and recognise their significant contributions to communities. Volunteers make an immense difference to their communities and have played a key role throughout the pandemic. There are many ways to celebrate and show appreciation for the work of volunteers, consider:

• Say thank you by recognising their impact in local communities, by:
  • A thank you email or through social media (you can use the hashtag #VolunteersWeek to join the online community celebrating volunteers this week)
  • Community funded gift baskets which could include vouchers or discounts from local businesses
• Collect stories from volunteers and those that they supported during the pandemic and share them through local newspapers, local radio, social media etc.
• Setting up virtual online gathering of local volunteers and:
  • Distribute awards to volunteers to recognise their efforts
  • Create a space for volunteers to share their experiences of volunteering during the pandemic. This type of event can also introduce local volunteers to each other and create an greater sense of being part of a local volunteer communit
• Create public displays of recognition (e.g. a park bench dedicated to local volunteers)
• Encourage community involvement e.g. “The Big Lunch” which is being held on Sunday 6th June
• Allocate a day to celebrate volunteers annually e.g. "Power of Youth Day" which celebrates the contributions of young people to communities

The complexity of COVID-19 has meant that the risks have often been difficult to predict and understand, thus creating uncertainty and a challenge for those responsible for public risk communications. "When scientific uncertainty appears in public settings, it could reduce the perceived authority of science" (Zehr, p.11). Effective communication of uncertainty is essential, to ensure that individuals and communities are well-informed, are better able to make decisions about their well-being and respond to/mitigate the impacts of risk. Consider:

• Create a visualization of risk, to generate a deeper and more relevant understanding of the facts and insights often concealed in abstract data, e.g.; 'The risk characterisation theatre', a visualisation approach using a seating chart (like those used when booking seats in a theatre) which "visually displays risk by obscuring a share of seats that correspond to the risk" (see example below)
• This approach generates a visual of the likelihood of the risk, and enables a visual communication of rare risks that are often challenging to represent and communicate effectively
• This approach also enables an individual to relate a risk with a level and within a context that they can naturally associate to. By not stating exact figures, this approach tackles the "big issue" of uncertainty in risk
• Other examples of visualizations of risk include; displaying the impact of "long COVID" as places in a bus, e.g. "a figure such as 22% of patients discharged from hospital after COVID-19 reporting hair loss could be depicted as 11 individuals on a bus full of 50 people who have left hospital after receiving care for the virus". This is a scenario that anyone familiar with a bus can easily imagine. The data becomes immediately less abstract.

You can view a visualization of this concept in the last page of this article here..

Reference: Rifkin, E. and Bouwer, E. (2007) The Illusion of Certainty: Health Benefits and Risks. Boston, MA: Springer US.

A recent study found that the Canadian disaster news media framed young people in five different ways: “1. the vulnerable status of youth; 2. youth as passive bystanders; 3. children as a burden on adults; 4. youth as active agents; and 5. youth as a ‘legitimizing criteria’ in disaster response” (where certain response and recovery resources/actions are prioritized to enable young people to “bounce back” following crisis). The findings of this research highlight a need to shift the narrative and change how young people are framed in emergencies, to recognise their assets and potential roles in disaster risk reduction, emergency response and recovery efforts. Consider:

• Meaningful, inclusive, collaborative and creative strategies to engage young people in all stages of disaster risk and risk management, e.g. Colombia: The school of our dreams where young people create music videos to teach others about the value of protective and protected schools:
  • Enable “Self-driven participation” (youth-owned and led engagement) where young people take ownership and identify risks, and manage the process and outcomes, supported by adults when necessary
  • Establish “Collaborative participation” (adult-owned and youth-led engagement) where adults establish collaboration and invite young people to support the identification of issues. Partnerships are established between adults and young people in a form of “inter-generational collaboration”, a partnership which allows young people to increase their levels of self-directed action over time
• In the Philippines, children are participating in “school-watching programmes” where they gather information about risks that can be addressed by local school authorities. The children create hazard maps which can be shared to educate other students on risk and safety information
• Recognise the role of young people in creating resilience in communities, e.g. Injuv (The National Youth Institute in Chile) who focus on ways in which young people can be involved, activated and mobilised in emergency response during crisis. They have been working to establish and ecosystem of permanent local youth volunteers, and connect young volunteers directly with voluntary organisations through an online volunteer platform (Transform Country Network)
• Utilize the media to amplify the voices and efforts of young people as catalysts for change in their communities, to create a platform through which young people can share their ideas, opinions and concerns

Retention and continued engagement of those who have offered their time, knowledge and skills to support response efforts will be crucial to ensure the valuable resources and capabilities are available for recovery and renewal activities. Recognising the enormous efforts of volunteers over the last year is integral to their retention. Consider:

• Recognise and thank volunteers for their efforts through personal letters or less personal approaches such as via social media
• Develop accredited certification programmes to officially recognise volunteer skills and knowledge
• Establish a service awards programme for volunteers based on length of service
• Introduce a tax credit programme for volunteers. E.g. The Search and Rescue Volunteers Tax Credit (SRVTC) represents "federal recognition" of the important role played by search and rescue volunteers in Canada. There are conditions and criteria that are required to be met in order for volunteers to qualify for tax credit (e.g. volunteers who perform in excess of 200 "eligible hours" in a year). Appropriate recruiting, screening and management of volunteers helps to ensure people are not joining for the wrong reasons

In health systems across the world, screening programmes and non-emergency surgical operations have been postponed and cancelled to reduce transmission and free up capacity to treat Covid-19 patients. The USA, UK and Canada have been working to re-start non-COVID related healthcare since the first wave of COVID-19, with subsequent COVID-19 surges creating further challenges, particularly for those countries who are yet to tackle healthcare waiting lists. Those working to reduce the backlog report that some patients continue to defer seeking care so not to increase pressure on services, or because they fear catching the virus. Continued delays will decrease quality of life, increase treatment costs, and worsen outcomes, as the conditions individuals are suffering from deteriorate. There may also be knock-on effects on social care. Consider the measures explored by the UK, USA and Canada:

• Proactively engage the public (e.g. through local communications) to instill confidence in the safety and continued functioning of healthcare systems and encourage them to seek care if they need it
• Ensure ample PPE is available to prevent unnecessary challenges in the delivery of health and social care
• Inform plans by developing rigorous forecasts of future patient demand and service pressures
• Enhance national and local partnerships developed during the pandemic to address the backlog of people needing care. For example:
  • Begin to increase resource capacity through recruitment now to ensure sufficient capacity is available in the future
  • Extend surgical operating hours, including at weekends
  • Draw on volunteers to support vaccination programmes to enable trained healthcare staff to focus on elective care
  • Pool resources between local hospitals and centralize waiting lists so that patients can be treated wherever there is capacity
  • Make greater use of virtual care to increase outpatient access
  • Pilot alternative health care testing programmes (e.g.home testing kits for HPV)

While the vaccine programme may be in its early stage in many countries, thought is required on how to access people who are not on any social services list or registered in any location. This includes homeless people, illegal immigrants, stateless people and refugees who are not in the 'system'. Excluding such people from the programme risks the virus continuing to affect them, and then spreading into other parts of society. Consider:

• Take a national perspective on how to involve people who are marginalised from mainstream public services in the vaccine programme
• Establish who is responsible for vaccinating unregistered people
• Decide whether all vaccination centres are open to vaccinating unregistered people
• How partners that have strong community links can disseminate the vaccine message to unregistered people
• Assess the consequences of unregistered people not being vaccinated
• When the first vaccination of an unregistered person should take place and a target time frame in which to vaccinate all unregistered people
• Identify challenges for the vaccination programme in vaccinating unregistered people
• Recognise that un-registered people may be fearful or hesitant to come forward to receive the vaccine:
  • Consider a moratorium/amnesty on those who regard themselves to be illegally resident in the country to receive the vaccine
  • Work with partners and external organisations who have links to un-registered people to communicate that they can register to receive the vaccine without fear of immigration enforcement activities

Vaccines must be a global public good, which contribute to the equitable protection and promotion of human well-being among all people. At national level, a clear aim for vaccine programmes is essential, e.g. reduce immediate risk to life, in order to inform the identification of priority groups. As sufficient vaccine supply for whole populations will not be immediately available, WHO have provided a Prioritization Roadmap and a Values Framework, to assist with the prioritization of target groups. The WHO guidelines and framework advise to:

• Identify groups that will achieve the vaccine programme aim where there is an immediate risk to life, e.g. Stage 1 Priority Group - Care home residents, staff and volunteers working in care homes; Stage 2 Priority - Frontline health workers and those of 80 years of age and over. Priority groups should be listed and detailed to cover the whole population that is to be vaccinated
• Clearly define groups within priority phases, e.g. workers who are at very high risk of becoming infected and transmitting COVID-19 because they work in, for example, frontline health care, COVID-19 treatment centres, COVID-19 testing laboratories, or have direct contact with COVID-19 infected patients
• Avoid classifying groups as 'essential workers' as a qualifier
• Make priority groups explicit, straightforward, concise and publicly available
• Assess the prioritisation of those who are in high population density settings, e.g. refugees/detention camps, prisons; or who are not recorded in existing systems, e.g. un-registered persons
• Recognise vaccination as a global issue to begin conversations that identify how we will achieve the aim of reducing immediate risk to life globally, through international collaboration

All areas of peoples' lives have been impacted by COVID-19 in a multitude of different ways. Compassion acknowledges that people may be suffering, and promotes sensitivity about the issues affecting people. Compassion during COVID-19 should acknowledge that while everyone has been impacted, they will have been impacted differently. Recognising these differences will help to build transparency and authenticity within the organisations. Consider how to develop a compassionate organisation through:

• Creating safe spaces where people can air their concerns and views
• Ensure there are processes in place to address legitimate concerns and views
• Regularly check-in with those within the organisation to actively enquire about their wellbeing - reducing the expectation and pressure on people to self-mobilise support mechanisms
• Anticipate needs e.g. be aware of pressures, deadlines and potential for burnout
• Believe people when they say they are struggling and trust that they are doing their best
• Consider being transparent about your own struggles, but be aware of establishing boundaries
• Note that compassion does not lower expectations within the organisation or undermine people's roles and responsibilities. Rather, it creates a healthier organisational environment that can reduce anxiety, fear and shame

During COVID-19 decision makers have grappled with containing outbreaks and how to reopen or reclose business and services based on infection numbers and other measures. Research in Canada has shown that accounting for geography, epidemiology, and travel patterns, localized county approaches to lockdown result in fewer days of service and business closure, and impacts fewer people compared to entire province closures. The research suggests, when implementing a local lockdown, to consider:

• The trigger conditions that require a local lockdown to be enforced and ensure they are agreed with central government but can be enacted upon by local government
• Coordinating with neighbouring counties or metropolitan areas, including the criteria for when and how local lockdowns should be implemented and when a neighbouring region should also lockdown
• Gathering local lockdown lessons that can provide useful insights into compliance of measures, and implementing learning to help avoid ineffective strategies
• Decentralizing control over when a local lockdown should be enforced to ensure local decision makers can enact closures promptly

During response, individuals and organisations have shown a huge outpouring of support through donations of their time and resources. Now, with people going back to work and assuming their pre-COVID activities, people and organisations may have less time to volunteer to the effort, or there may be less suitable volunteer opportunities available. Instead, people may want to show their solidarity in other ways, including by making financial donations. Consider establishing a relief fund, and publicizing its cause, to give an organised mechanism for people and businesses to show their solidarity. An organised mechanism should give people confidence that their donations will be governed appropriately.

In many countries the voluntary sector is struggling financially as a result of loss of income and increased demand for services. The sector is a critical part of society and provides important services, so funding is being made available. Competition for that funding is high and the process to secure funding is not always straightforward; with application forms and procedures to follow. To support the voluntary sector to secure funding, consider supporting the writing of funding applications. Consider how to:

• Find out from voluntary organisations what they need to be able to make successful bids for funding
• Produce regular newsletters that summarise funding opportunities so voluntary organisations know what funding is available
• Provide help to voluntary organisations to interpret the calls for funding and identify suitability
• Provide information on how to write a successful application (e.g. online resources, training courses)
• Find volunteers who have grant writing skills and embed them in voluntary organisations (e.g. volunteers from the organisation itself, university students, furloughed staff from other organisations)
• Provide samples of good proposals to show the benchmark, support project managers on how to successfully deliver funded projects (e.g. project governance, staffing, delivery, evaluation)

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging time for everyone, especially in trying to adjust to new routines and living and working environments. This may be particularly true for children with autism and their parents, as children with autism have trouble adjusting to, coping with, and understanding change. To help with this, help parents to explain the current situation in clear and simple ways and can help children with autism to adjust to the 'new normal'. One way of doing this is to provide parents with access to materials that frame COVID-19 as a germ that can make people sick, so it is important to stay away from others and not touch things.

Advise parents to reiterate important rules to children with autism is also important to help them cope, such as:

• Washing hands well and often (for at least 20 seconds)
• Not touching their nose, mouth, and eyes
• Keeping at least 6 feet away from other people
• Wearing a cloth face covering or face mask in public places

Face coverings may be difficult for autistic children, some parents have had successes in attaching the ear loops on masks to their child's favourite hat with buttons to reduce sensitivity. Make authorities (such as transport providers, Police) aware of "Facemask Exemption Cards" that have been produced by organisations for parents to print out for those who cannot wear a mask. Local government can support parents of children with autism by working with respected specialist organisations to advise parents e.g. one encouraging mask wearing

• Demonstrate using the face mask on a preferred object or person, such as a stuffed animal, a doll, or a family member
• Allow the person to choose among different types of fabric face masks to find one that is most comfortable
• Start by practicing wearing the face mask for short durations of time, allowing for breaks when needed
• Plan initial outings in low-demand environments that are quiet and calm, so that the individual can experience success wearing the face mask
• Use a printed photo or digital photo of the individual wearing a face mask as a visual cue to wear the mask before outings

In addition to these changes, losing the daily routine that going school provides adds an additional layer of complexity for children with autism, and outs them at risk of not receiving the social care and support they require. While, some children may have found home schooling difficult, the time spent away from school may have resulted in the development of a new routine at home where they feel safe. As such, returning to school may cause anxiety and distress. Local government should inform teachers that some ways of reducing these anxieties include:

• Providing a visit to the school before it reopens if possible, to help children familiarise themselves with their environment and staff again
• Encouraging homes to introduce changes that are made in school at home e.g. explain social distancing measures, ask for photos of new classroom layouts to show children
• Asking parents for information about your child during COVID-19 so they have an understanding of their needs and how these may have changed due to COVID-19 restrictions

COVID-19 has also been a challenging time for parents of children with autism. One parent in the UK stated that support for them and their child had been reduced to occasional phone calls and they felt like they had been "left to struggle alone". They also stated that they were repeating the same or similar activities with their child from before lockdown and that it felt like their child's development had stalled. They stated that increased resources from their child's support worker such as a timetable of activities and development would have helped and made the experience of self-isolation and lockdown "less distressing".

Providing specialised phone lines and centralised hubs with resources for parents is vital, to ensure their well-being and that of their children, via reliable information and support. Local government can help employers to realise that parents also need to find ways to balance work and childcare responsibilities this can include:

• Arrange to work from home to ensure supervision, or childcare sharing arrangements with friends and family
• Prepare information about the child's support needs and successful learning and behaviour strategies for anyone caring for the child
• Develop an emergency contact list, and discuss it with friends and family. Include names and numbers of your personal autism support network, as well as medical providers
• Contact local organizations who may be able to offer support.
• Look through the child's medical records or evaluations related to autism as these may have recommendations on areas to focus on and can help you with making learning plans while schools are closed
• Reach out to others to maintain social support for the whole family e.g. social media, social media groups for autistic people and their families, and other virtual support groups that provide online resources for finding empathy and ideas while self-isolating or in lockdown

To read this case study in its original format (including references) follow the source link below to TMB Issue 16 (p.19-20).

By implementing guidance for safe working practices, organisations can protect workers and others from risks related to COVID-19. This framework offers a systematic approach to enable effective and timely adaptation to the changing situation. Organisations can consider safety practices relating to:

• Working from home e.g. suitability of work space, living with the clinically vulnerable
• Managing suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 e.g. promote a culture of transparency and support to reporting and managing suspected and confirmed cases
• Multiple or mobile workplaces e.g. the number and types of workplaces such as offices, factories, warehouses, vehicles, workers' own/other people's homes
• Resource availability e.g. adequate provision of toilet and handwashing facilities
• Reporting to external parties e.g. consultation and participation of workers, worker representatives and trade unions in decisions that affect health, safety and well-being
• Inclusivity and accessibility e.g. ensure issues and anxieties are respected; adapt roles and activities to reduce risks to vulnerable workers
• Psychological health and well-being e.g. take account of unsupervised working hours, isolation, lack of clarity on roles/responsibilities/deadlines
• Use available COVID-19 communication templates, printable signage and reopening toolkits

The Mental Health Commission of Canada has developed three programmes: Caring for Yourself/Caring for your Team, and Caring for Others:

• Caring for Yourself/Caring for your Team - Participants learn how to better understand their own mental wellness, and that of their team. They learn to notice if they might be moving into unwell areas, use practical actions to help with stress, and know when to reach out to get professional help, and learn tips to support team members
• Caring for Others - Participants focus on how to create a safe space to have conversations about mental health and/or substance use problems, and the skills required to respond to a mental health crisis until professional help arrives. This prepares participants to have conversations confidently about mental health during a crisis, with their family, friends, communities, and in their workplaces

To ensure that statements and information given to the public are consistent, while recognising some regional differences in content. Consider a communication strategy that clearly lays out:

• What will be said
• To whom will it be said
• Who will say it

Consider what existing relationships the news outlets have with organisations and the public and how the media can become a welcomed partner in communications strategies.

Reference: Emergency Planner, Canada

This may include farming and fishing sectors, tourism, conferences or industries affected by weather conditions i.e. the slowing down of construction in harsh weather. Fluctuations that were traditionally short-term may now have long-term challenges. Preparation should be made to manage change in expenses and revenues beyond the season.

Reference: Emergency Planner, Canada

Canada has considered the following:

• Financial support offered to employees working from home
• Considerations related to parking/mileage reimbursements
• Reporting of taxable benefits and related tax withholding obligations
• Considerations related to temporary relocations

It is important to consider the impacts on both the environment and people's health and safety when restrictions on movements to national parks, beaches and beauty spots are lifted during recovery. The issue is twofold. Firstly, there are health and safety risks associated with lifting restrictions on access to outdoor spaces. An influx of visitors to national parks and beaches could result in a rise in emergency situations such a person being pulled out to sea or lost on mountains.

Consideration should be given to the possible increased need for, and pressure on, mountain rescue and coast guard services. This draws attention to the need for visitor management, inclusive of carparks at nature sites where social distancing is difficult.

Secondly, many countries are seeing wildlife flourishing, whether this is the return of birds or animals, or the rewilding of green spaces. Lifting restrictions could place extreme pressures on the environment due to the influx of human visitors and may lead to the destruction of habitats. Consideration should be given to working closely with conservation experts and educators to inform governments and the public about how to protect and enjoy these spaces, and to encourage ownership of the conservation process.

Reference: Emergency Planner, Canada

Consider whether to:

• Shift from central command to central orchestration. Consider the questions you should ask to anticipate and plan for the pivot from a response to a recovery-oriented position
• Monitor for signals of the economic rebound and the indicators to be tracked to provide the clearest picture of the rebound timing, and the most likely progression back to a normal economic environment
• Orchestrate and integrate cross-functional and cross enterprise. Recommended actions for companies to take during the turbulent recovery period that will be essential for long-term success
• Prepare for the "new normal". The COVID-19 crisis is likely to accelerate fundamental and structural changes that were inevitable - how can your organisation evolve to meet the challenge of the next unexpected global crisis