Response to COVID-19
It has been 18 years since the Children’s Guardian Home opened to serve local children at risk of abuse and neglect. Since that time, Guardian House has been a true blessing to our community, offering shelter, comfort and relief to children at risk living within families in crisis. The program approach is comprehensive and all encompassing of each child’s needs, with particular focus given to nutrition, health and education.
Current events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly impacted children and families in Stanislaus County and have distinctly affected Guardian House operations in several ways. The Children Guardian Home has not only remained open to serve children during this pandemic but has actually found it necessary to expand program activities to meet the unique circumstances surrounding this public health crisis. Overall, Guardian House has responded to a 33% increase in community requests for service related to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Pandemic related school closures have also resulted in a threefold increase in the number of school aged children entering our doors each day; and since, this population of children need to stay current with their school studies, Guardian House staff have been devoting extra time and resources each day to facilitate school lesson plans. Now at Guardian House, staff are facilitating daily e-learning and are providing grade-level classroom instruction to support continued academic advancement for children of all ages.
The home isolation aspects of shelter in place measures during this pandemic have naturally elevated our concerns for the young children left secluded within hazardous home settings. This concern has prompted Guardian House staff to develop innovative ways of staying connected with this population of high-risk children, using electronic outreach strategies to reach out to these children in their homes.
Our Community continues to be greatly blessed by the loving, caring members of the Guardian Fund Foundation whose aim is to provide security and safety to local children in times of crisis. Again, thank you for supporting this valuable community program.
Sincerely,
Colleen Garcia, Executive Director