Providing Services during COVID-19
Residential Recovery
Epiphany Center is committed to ensuring that our clients, all of whom have addiction and mental health disorders receive daily treatment. We are proud to be continuing a full recovery treatment schedule which now includes social distancing and telehealth sessions.
While other treatment programs have stopped moving individuals into their facility, Epiphany Center is deemed by the Department of Public Health as essential - no different than the fire department or the police department. Thus, we continue with intake interviews and move women in need of treatment into residence. Our census remains at approximately 20 women plus 6 infants and 1 toddler; as you can imagine the activity level is quite high, and feels especially so during this shelter-in-place.
We do a very careful COVID screening at intake and move-in which includes temperature reading. This temperature screening (inclusive of all staff) is done on a daily basis at each shift change. In addition to our treatment group sessions, our Recovery therapist meets with our clients bi-weekly through a secure telemedicine solution: Doxy.me. Court ordered child reunifications continue to occur and parenting support is offered.
Dyadic Therapy: Through Doxy.me our clinical staff (who are working remotely) also meet with their clients in dyadic therapy.
Epiphany Step-Down
COVID Screening occurs at all shifits at our transitional house and includes the screening of all staff and clients. Step-Down is maintaining a census of 15 women and 7 children. The isolation shelter-in-place brings has exacerbated mental health challenges and our staff have responded accordingly. The imposed shelter-in-place protocol has been especially challenging for women who feel they have “earned” their freedom after completing a rigorous treatment program. Thus, sheltering-in-place seems to be more challenging for many in this facility versus those in our structured residential treatment facility.
Road to Resilience
The mission of Road to Resilience (R2R) is to help women who are pregnant, or have infants 0-12 months of age, find safety and stability through services and referrals. R2R is now more important than ever, with heightened levels of stress stemming from the fear caused by COVID-19 and the isolation imposed by shelter-in-place requirements. As UNICEF and so many experts have stated, the risk for child abuse and neglect amidst intensifying containment measures is escalating. We are concerned and recognize the harmful coping skills mothers may turn to, including substance use. R2R staff are doing everything possible to provide the necessary support that our participants may need.
In-Home Services
In-Home Services continues to serve its essential function—providing support for parents with the goal of alleviating parental stress and keeping families intact. Weekly in-person home visits with clients have been replaced with remote, video sessions. IHS staff utilize laptops and tablets while, primarily, our clients use cell phones. SafeCare®, our parenting education model, has been adapted to retain the core principles of Home Safety, Health and Parent-Child/Infant Interaction while requiring shorter instruction sessions. Parents have been receptive to these changes—if afternoon 'visits' can be scheduled. In addition to infants, many have school-age children who, of course, are now home all day; and, morning hours are our parents’ busiest.
Referrals for additional services and resources also continue to be a key element of our work. We receive requests for assistance with eviction notices, despite the City’s current moratorium, and we continue to provide referrals for resources for food.
During this time, we are proud that we have been able to meet the challenge of continuity of service.