Message from President
By David Ikeda
To all members of the JSS community, I know these are extremely challenging times and that we must do our part to help slow the spread of the Covid 19 Virus. We will remain open and are committed to helping the vulnerable people in our community. However there will be severe restrictions on our activities in compliance with government and health regulations.
All programs have been canceled until further notice. The office will remain open but will be restricted to staff and certain board members only. Counseling shall be done virtually or by telephone. No “drop ins” to the office will be allowed.
I have received assurances that the JCCC where we are based, will not close its doors entirely. However changing circumstances may cause such an unfortunate outcome. We have put in place plans for the counseling staff to work from home. For security and privacy purposes, the activities of our staff in such circumstances may be limited. Anxiety surrounding the virus, health of friends and family members as well as financial, and housing concerns will most likely increase over the next few weeks and months of this crisis. We at JSS will do our part to help.
To all of our volunteers I know I speak for the board and staff when I ask for your understanding and again offer our thanks. Many of you I know, especially those who visit vulnerable seniors in our community as part of our Konnichiwa Program are concerned about your client’s health and welfare. Once government and health officials allow us to do so and the staff deem it to be safe, our activities will resume.
To our donors and supporters, I appeal to your generosity during this troubling time. Many of our clients and users were already facing challenges from abuse, poverty or aging—unfortunately some users suffer from all three. The current situation is only exacerbating their anxiety as you can imagine. Please help us to continue to help them.
Finally I would also like to extend my best wishes to you. Be safe. Be well. And keeping these two last directives in mind, please do what you can to help others as well.
