Dec 21, 2020 – This year, Christmas will not be the same. The COVID-19 pandemic presents many challenges on how we celebrate the holidays.
These are all factors that have now become a staple part of our lives: Wearing masks, testing, lockdowns, no visitation, social distancing and isolation.
Being alone, during the best of times, is a very hard reality to accept -- especially for our vulnerable population--who will have to resort to spending the festive season without family. This can trigger heavy emotions and vulnerability.
According to an article in Yahoo Life, “The coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated that vulnerability. In a year of grief and immeasurable loss, it’s natural for people — many of whom may not have seen their loved ones since the holidays last year — to have negative feelings about how a holiday season amid the “new normal” will play out.”
Now that Ontario-wide lockdowns have been announced to take effect as of Christmas Eve, we deal with our residents experiencing their first Christmas without family support. This is where SupportiveLiving endeavours to recreate and inject the Christmas spirit into our residences. In the past few weeks, our community churches, restaurants and individual donations have brought cheer and hope to hundreds of our residents, across all of our homes, as they deal with the prospect of not being at home with their families.
As part of our festivities, SL CEO and Founder, Vishal Chityal, will contribute Christmas dinner and all residents will receive a gift so that they may feel at home and bond with each other in a socially responsible way. Residents will also take part in various activities and decorating their home to give them a sense of purpose and belonging where they reside.
Nine months into the pandemic, we are very proud of how our frontline workers and community has come together to support our residents. On behalf of SupportiveLiving.ca Management and Vishal Chityal, we wish everyone Happy Holidays and may you all stay healthy and safe.
Be well and stay well!
