shelter | Tedford Housing

COVID-19 Organization Response Plan Update

August 9, 2021 By Blaine Flanders Leave a Comment

Written by Rota L. Knott, Executive Director for Tedford Housing. Effective August 6, 2021.

Tedford Housing is retaining its COVID-19 protocols to ensure the continued health, safety, and
welfare of our guests, tenants, outreach clients, and staff during the pandemic. These protocols remain
applicable at all Tedford Housing facilities.

Effective immediately Tedford Housing has updated its COVID-19 safety protocols:

• Even if fully vaccinated, as per CDC guidelines, all staff and guests should also continue to wear
masks in both the Adult and Family homeless shelters.
• Guests at the Adult Shelter will wear a face covering in all indoor and outdoor common areas,
except when eating or in the designated outdoor smoking area.
• Guests at the Family Shelter will wear a face covering in all indoor and outdoor common areas,
except when in the designated outdoor smoking area.
• Guests are not required to wear face coverings in their individual units.
• Staff will wear a face covering when at work in all common spaces at all Tedford Housing
facilities. Face coverings are not required when working alone in a private office or similar space.
• Staff will follow state protocols regarding the wearing of face coverings in all public spaces, both
indoor and outdoor, in Maine when conducting official Tedford Housing business. This includes
when participating in off-site client outreach or other professional meetings.
• Outreach clients will wear a face covering at all times during both on-site and off-site
appointments. Staff can provide face coverings for clients as necessary. On-site appointments
with outreach clients with be limited to a maximum of four members of a single household.
• All Tedford Housing offices, shelters, and supportive housing buildings will remain closed to the
general public. Volunteers will be limited to a maximum of four per indoor on-site volunteer
activity. Outdoor volunteer activities will follow CDC capacity recommendations.
• Only staff, guests, and approved service providers will be permitted to enter the shelters without
permission of the director of operations or executive director. Visitors at all Tedford Housing
facilities will be required to wear a mask to gain entry.
• Shelter guests with a fever or other symptoms COVID-19 symptoms as outlined by the CDC will
be referred for medical care, and must show a negative COVID-19 test with clearance by a
medical professional in order to reenter the shelter.
• Staff members who have a fever or other symptoms or who have a symptomatic member of their
household will be referred for medical care. Staff must show a negative COVID-19 test with
clearance by a medical professional in order to return to work.
• Non-shelter staff will work remotely as necessary and approved by their immediate supervisor.
Access by staff to multiple facilities will be limited.

During the time that Tedford Housing is exercising COVID-19 protocols in our shelters, the
following steps will be taken when intakes are being conducted and specifically relate to the prevention of
transmission of COVID-19. These steps are in addition to the standard intake procedures in place at the
adult and family shelters.

Beginning Aug. 1, 2021, the adult shelter capacity will not exceed 12 guests. The family shelter
will continue to serve six families in individual apartments.

All persons seeking shelter access will be asked to present a negative COVID-19 test within
72 hours of intake.
All persons seeking access will be asked screening questions at intake. These include:
• Have they had a fever?
• Have they had a new and worsening cough?
• Have they experienced a recent loss of taste or smell?
• In the last two weeks have they been exposed to or have been in close proximity to
anybody that has tested positive for COVID-19?
For families seeking access these questions will apply to all family members seeking access.
Individuals or family members responding yes to any of the above questions will be referred for medical
care, and must show a negative COVID-19 test with clearance by a medical professional in order to
reenter the shelter.
All persons seeking access will have their temperature taken before access is granted.
Individuals or family members with a temperature above normal (98.6) will be referred for
medical care, and must show a negative COVID-19 test with clearance by a medical
professional in order to reenter the shelter.

Tedford Housing will continue to operate our Adult Shelter 24 hours a day. The Adult Shelter
will not close and guests will not be asked to leave during the daytime as is our typical protocol. At our Adult Shelter, Family Shelter and supportive housing complexes, our guests and residents are asked to continue practicing social distancing with a 6-foot minimum separation as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. Case management for our guests and outreach clients will be handled remotely by staff as needed.

Tedford Housing may opt to alter our shelter operations at any time. For additional
information, contact Rota L. Knott, Executive Director.

Click here for the PDF version.

COVID-19 Organization Response Plan Update

April 27, 2021 By Blaine Flanders Leave a Comment

Written by Rota L. Knott, Executive Director for Tedford Housing. Effective April 27th, 2021.

Tedford Housing is enhancing its COVID-19 protocols to ensure the continued health, safety, and welfare of our guests, tenants, outreach clients, and staff during the pandemic. These new protocols are applicable at all Tedford Housing facilities.

Effective immediately Tedford Housing has implemented the following COVID-19 safety protocols:

Staff will wear a face covering when at work in all common spaces at all Tedford Housing facilities. Face coverings are not required when working alone in a private office or similar space.
Staff will follow state protocols that require the wearing of face coverings in all public spaces, both indoor and outdoor, in Maine when conducting official Tedford Housing business. This includes when participating in off-site client outreach or other professional meetings.
Guests at the Adult Shelter will wear a face covering in all indoor and outdoor common areas, except when eating or in the designated outdoor smoking area.
Guests at the Family Shelter will wear a face covering in all indoor and outdoor common areas, except when in the designated outdoor smoking area. Guests are not required to wear face coverings in their individual units.
Outreach clients will wear a face covering at all times during both on-site and off-site appointments. On-site appointments with outreach clients with be limited to a maximum of four members of a single household.
All Tedford Housing offices, shelters, and supportive housing buildings will remain closed to the general public. Volunteers will be limited to a maximum of four per on-site volunteer activity. Outdoor volunteer activities will follow CDC capacity recommendations
Only staff and guests will be permitted to enter the shelters without permission of the director of operations or executive director.
Shelter guests with a fever or other symptoms will be referred for medical care, and must show a negative COVID-19 test with clearance by a medical professional in order to reenter the shelter.
Staff members who have a fever or other symptoms or who have a symptomatic member of their household will be referred for medical care. Staff must show a negative COVID-19 test with clearance by a medical professional in order to return to work.
Non-shelter staff will work remotely as necessary and approved by their immediate supervisor. Access by staff to multiple facilities will be limited.

During the time that Tedford Housing is exercising COVID-19 protocols in our shelters, the following steps will be taken when intakes are being conducted and specifically relate to the prevention of transmission of COVID-19. These steps are in addition to the standard intake procedures in place at the adult and family shelters.

Until further notice, the adult shelter capacity will not exceed 10 guests. The family shelter will continue to serve six families in individual apartments.

All persons seeking shelter access will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of intake.
All persons seeking access will be asked screening questions at intake. These include: Have they had a new and worsening cough?
- Have they had a fever?
- Have they experienced a recent loss of taste or smell?
- In the last two weeks have they been exposed to or have been in close proximity to anybody that has tested positive for COVID-19?
  For families seeking access, these questions will apply to all family members seeking access. Individuals or family members responding yes to any of the above questions will be referred for medical care, and must show a negative COVID-19 test with clearance by a medical professional in order to reenter the shelter.
All persons seeking access will have their temperature taken before access is granted. Individuals or family members with a temperature above normal (98.6) will be referred for medical care, and must show a negative COVID-19 test with clearance by a medical professional in order to reenter the shelter.

Tedford Housing will continue to operate our Adult Shelter 24 hours a day to ensure our guests have a safe place be while the statewide State of Emergency remains in place. The Adult Shelter will not close and guests will not be asked to leave during the daytime as is our typical protocol.

At our Adult Shelter, Family Shelter and supportive housing complexes, our guests and residents are asked to continue practicing extreme social distancing with a 6-foot minimum separation as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. Case management for our guests and outreach clients will be handled remotely by staff as needed.

Tedford Housing may opt to alter our shelter operations at any time. For additional information, contact Rota L. Knott, Executive Director.

Giving Voice: Staying warm amid the heating season

March 2, 2021 By Blaine Flanders Leave a Comment

This article was published in the Times Record on 02/12/2021, and written by Blaine Flanders, Community & Donor Relations Coordinator at Tedford Housing. You can read the article on the Times Record here.

BRUNSWICK – Many Mainers are bundled in a blanket on the couch, turning up the heat, and occasionally sipping on something warm. But for some, the winter does not look so warm and cozy. For some, the winter looks like a choice between paying rent or affording heat. Perhaps some households know the value of a warm home after shoveling in sub-zero temperatures with no gloves. Unfortunately, many Mainers are at high-risk for not being able to heat their homes during the frigid winter months.

Around New England, several states have heating assistance programs, and many households in Maine take advantage of the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), which is available to qualifying households through local Community Action Agencies. General assistance offices as well as some town-sponsored heating assistance programs also aid those in need. Tedford Housing’s Warm Thy Neighbor program is unique in that it is a fully donor-funded program that provides emergency heating assistance between November and March to those in the program’s catchment area.

Warm Thy Neighbor was established in 2004 by Sallie Smith. Sallie dedicated years of time and effort to ensure the success of the Warm Thy Neighbor program. In October 2010, Smith transferred the Warm Thy Neighbor program to Tedford Housing when operations and need became too large. Sallie is a long-time supporter of Tedford Housing and she currently sits on Tedford’s Marketing & Development Committee.

Freezing temperatures bring frozen hands and frozen feet. Tedford Housing’s Warm Thy Neighbor program provides heating assistance to approximately 125 households during one heating season, warming the feet and hands of over 248 people. Currently, six loyal volunteers, supported by Tedford’s staff, work with Warm Thy Neighbor clients to ensure fuel is delivered to those in need. These six dedicated volunteers have been volunteering with this program for over five years, and continue to donate their time to ensure hundreds of people can warm their homes. Tedford Housing is grateful for these individuals who are committed to this program and our mission.

COVID-19 has changed how Warm Thy Neighbor is implemented this year, by halting all in-person meetings and requiring paper-work drop-offs allow staff and volunteers to minimize contact and keep clients safe. Despite the change, Warm Thy Neighbor continues to field requests for heating assistance as neighborhood households struggle to afford heat in the midst of the pandemic, all while balancing the burden of rent, bills, and putting food on the table.

At Tedford Housing, we understand the need for heating assistance, and how paramount the program is to keeping people in their homes. Warm Thy Neighbor is a vital homeless prevention and outreach program, and many of those on the brink of homelessness utilize this emergency fund as a vital resource. Tedford Housing is proud to offer this program to so many households and individuals in our community, and appreciate the broad community support for this program. A generous anonymous donor gifted Tedford $25,000 as a matching gift this heating season, and the community is stepping up to help us reach that goal. Don’t let someone have to choose this winter between paying for food or having a warm home.

To apply for Warm Thy Neighbor heating assistance, please call (207)729-1161 ext.115, or for more information about Tedford Housing or with any questions, please email blaine@tedfordhousing.org.

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Giving Voice is a weekly collaboration among four local non-profit service agencies to share information and stories about their work in the community.

Giving Voice: Homelessness in the southern Midcoast through the lens of COVID-19

July 15, 2020 By Blaine Flanders Leave a Comment

This article was published in the Portland Press Herald on 07/03/2020 and is written by Giff Jamison, the Director of Programs at Tedford Housing.

As I write this in late June, we are entering our fifth month of the COVID-19 pandemic in Maine. Back in March, in response to the suddenness and increasing severity this national health crisis, Tedford Housing, like many other organizations serving people experiencing homelessness, began changing and adapting in order to adhere to the evolving social distancing guidelines and the Governor’s executive order to shelter safely at home. That month, to create more room in our shelter, we moved some guests into a motel. Our shelter, which traditionally had been closed between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on weekdays, is now open 24/7. By late May, enough people had transitioned into housing to allow us to bring everyone safely back into the shelter again. Normally 16 beds, we are capping our current capacity at 10 individuals – doing intakes as beds empty and guests move into housing. Our family shelter continues to serve our regular number of six families in individual apartments in our facility at Federal St.

So far, Tedford has been lucky in not having a shelter guest or any of its staff members test positive for COVID-19. But here, as everywhere else, adjusting to the often referred to “new normal” is challenging for everyone involved. Our overarching goal has always been to help people who have experienced the trauma and destabilizing impact of homelessness become housed as soon as possible. Prior to March, there were already enough hurdles for our case managers to manage in finding suitable affordable housing. Matching resources and the limited supply of affordable housing to the diverse needs of people on their case loads meant hours of telephone calls, in-person viewing of apartments and layers of paperwork to finalize the issuance of a voucher and lease-up of an apartment. COVID-19 brought another dimension to that work. As Michelle Thiboutot, our adult shelter case manager, puts it: “COVID-19 has slowed the housing process down. From processing documents for housing to securing a unit.”

In addition to working with folks in our shelters, Tedford case managers work with those who are homeless and unsheltered in the community and those in their own apartments who have recently experienced homelessness. This outreach work has grown in importance as we work to not only restore housing to those that have lost it, but, through regular check-ins and visits, help people maintain their housing and avoid a return to homelessness. The changes in society brought about by the pandemic, the need to socially distance from others, to avoid gatherings, and the closing or reduced hours of places where people can socialize or congregate have had their impact on households served in outreach or our supportive housing programs. Michelle indicates: “some of my outreach clients are having a really hard time due to the isolation and COVID-19 restrictions.” Actual fear of becoming infected with the virus, coupled with the restriction in connecting with natural supports has taken its toll on some of our families as Beverly McPhail, our family case manager, points out: “Their biggest worry is that their children will be infected or will die from the coronavirus. They miss visiting face to face with their family members, their anxiety has increased substantially. Some families reported that they feel like they are buried alive and always worrying about the ever-looming coronavirus over their head. The loss of their freedom and the loss of everything that they used to do before coronavirus is devastating to them.”

Despite the hardships and loss encountered as a result of COVID-19, we have learned that we can still accomplish our mission to Empower people to move from homelessness to home and alleviate the interruption to a life caused by homelessness. In the coming week or so, two more people are moving into housing from our adult shelter. They are both persons who have experienced homelessness for long periods of time but have stuck it out at the shelter and through their patience and the diligence of their case manager have secured safe and affordable permanent housing. This event always provides a little shot in the arm for those of us in this field. With the uncertainty that this era generates in our personal and working lives, it is good to know that we can share in a small victory every once in a while. Some offer predictions of more to come in the way of COVID-19 in the upcoming fall and winter season. We, together with our partners in the community, will continue to adapt to the current conditions and, to the best of ability, continue our effort to house the most vulnerable in our community.