We accomplished many things in the past 6 months; it is actually hard to recount everything. The Town Shop building closed its’ door March 16th at 10pm, not sure when we would be opening again. The initial panic of schools closing, jobs sending workers home, and businesses drastically reducing their hours sent many of our teens into a downward spiral. We immediately began trying to put supports into place as we reached out to teens by any means possible.
We started online programming, zoom meetings, dropping off food to families, making masks and distributing hand sanitizer to those in need. Staff remained available to talk over the phone, through messenger, text, social media etc. We also walked (socially distant) with teens that needed to meet up and see a familiar face. We handed out art supplies, musical instruments, books, and promoted positive coping skills. We had virtual open mic nights (many attended and shared beautiful art, poetry, music, and even made us all laugh with original comedy). We highlighted young adults on our social media pages to remind them of their friends and personal positive attributes. We listened, we shared, we grieved together, and we stayed as close as we could all things considered.
As phases progressed, so did the Town Shop. Staff returned in May to start cleaning and maintaining the building and equipment. The building had been closed for over 2 months; there was much to be cleaned. We also were entering a new season, so staff got the trailer, kayaks and other outdoors equipment ready for a summer outside. We met with Camillus Parks and Recreation and decided that zero building hours and no teens in the Town Shop van was the best route to start introducing teens to the program again with phase 4.
June 30th, we resumed programming with strict guidelines. Teens carpooled and met us at parks, beaches, creeks, barbeques etc . They joined us for art in the park, open mics nights along the lake, picnics at the parkway, game nights under gazebos, and writing workshops in nature. We found a way to navigate in the middle of a pandemic with zero transportation provided 5 days a week for the entire summer. We even had to dust off some of our older boats as kayaking became so popular, our 12 boat trailer could not hold all the kayaks we needed. We put the boat rack on the van and could transport 14 kayaks for trips! I have said often when people ask how the Town Shop is doing during Covid-19, “We are kayaking our way through a pandemic!” of all the summers I have been with the Town Shop, this summer we launched more boats than ever before… 208 boats launched in 2 and a half months!!
We got half capacity use of the van back at the beginning of August, which increased teen participation immensely (many teens were without rides throughout the summer). We were also able to officially open the building at limited capacity (30 teens) with the start of the school year. We are still attempting to operate on a hybrid schedule of building hours and outdoor activities (building open Mon-Wed 3-10pm, Thursdays in nature and Fridays outside for game nights and open mic nights until the cold forces us indoors). Once the weather turns to snow, we will begin x-country skiing and snow shoeing per regular Town Shop scheduling.
We are happy to announce that building hours have been popular, and that teens have been respectful of new protocols. Staff has increased cleaning and disinfecting, placed appropriate signage and sanitizer on each floor with recommendations for how to “flow throughout the building,” as well as posted guidelines on social media. We also require masks to be worn when in the building unless seated 6 feet apart. The protocols may be changing, but The Town Shop program and its’ teens remain compassionate, resilient, and strong.