Important Information About Operations during March

Dear Colorado Community,

We’ve all been experiencing a bombardment of information regarding the COVID-19 situation here in Colorado, in our country, and across the globe.  Here at Violence Free Colorado, we know that domestic and sexual violence takes no break even at times like these and in fact, families will be even more stressed with lost work, closed schools and the realities of this illness.  We have carefully considered the advisories coming out of the CDC and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. We are also taking into consideration the vulnerability of the disabilities community and other vulnerable people receiving services in our building, and for that reason, Violence Free Colorado is dialing back our physical presence in many spaces at least for the remainder of March.

Here’s what will continue from our end:

• Coalition staff will be at work each day. We will be mostly working from our homes, but we will be available during regular business hours (usually M-F 9am – 5pm) for phone calls, virtual meetings and the like. If you call, please leave a message. We receive office voicemail by email, and we will return your call as soon as possible thereafter, or feel free to email us.
• We will continue to function in relationship to our Member organizations, offering to convene conversations, advocate on their behalf, and we will be in regular contact with them as this situation unfolds.
• If the legislature remains open, we will continue our presence at the Capitol for vital work to support our policy priorities.
• We are still planning to hold the Foundational Advocacy Skills Training in-person which is scheduled for April 15^th – 17^th in Denver.
• Any other scheduled trainings between now and the end of April are virtual and will proceed as planned.

Here’s what may look different:

• Meetings may be cancelled, rescheduled for a later date, or moved from in-person to virtual. We will let you know as the meetings come up.
• Although it seems like many of our partners are also moving meetings to virtual platforms, for those who are not, we will evaluate the risk for exposure and will determine if we should attend in-person or ask to participate using technology.

Here at Violence Free Colorado we are taking COVID-19 seriously and recognizing that we are members of a community filled with people who may be at a significantly higher risk than the average Coloradan. We believe we can meet the needs of our constituents while simultaneously minimizing the risk to our staff and to all with whom we come in contact. By centering the most vulnerable among us, we feel that we are taking an active role in preventing the spread of this disease.  We also recognize the incredible privilege that comes with this action and we are working actively to use our voice to support Coloradans who have no paid time off, who are looking at the prospect of lost wages, who are vulnerable and have few resources. We welcome anyone who wants to be in community with us.

Yours,

Amy

Amy Miller (she/her/hers)
Executive Director
Violence Free Colorado