Edgewood Partners and Supporters,
The coronavirus pandemic is impacting every facet of our society. As it does so, it serves as a stark reminder that we are all vulnerable and interconnected, and that today represents a new opportunity to reach out, connect and support one another.
This is especially true of the children, youth and families served by Edgewood. They represent the most vulnerable among us – from children enduring abuse who desperately need a stable place and someone to care for them, to former foster youth trying to find housing, to elderly kinship caregivers suffering chronic disease and weakened immune systems.
This is the reality they face:
· 61% of our caregivers are over 60, many of them dealing with pre-existing medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma, hypertension, in addition to caring for high-need children exposed to trauma and unable to stay with bio-parents. Many live in poverty and rely on public benefits to help pay the costs to raise their grandchild.
· Many caregivers rely on Medicare and Medi-Cal for health insurance and are not always able to find the care they need. Since many do not have legal guardianship, they are ineligible for public benefits.
· While the care-giving stress many of us may face with children staying home due to virus-related school closures, this challenge is amplified for Edgewood caregivers who work two or more jobs to make ends meet.
· As income is reduced when caregivers must take time away from a job to care for children, they face the very real prospect of financial scarcity, leading to poverty, and, potentially, homelessness. This often creates a vicious cycle in which poverty negatively impacts physical and mental health, preventing them from economic recovery.
· Children already facing trauma now feel greater stress as their school routine is disrupted and their parents’ stress and anxiety transfers into daily life, creating new obstacles to recovering from the very trauma that brought them to Edgewood in the first place.
While we are disappointed that we will not join together at the Bently Reserve to generate support for the Edgewood community, we hope you tune in for our virtual event! We still have many stories to share and memories to make together!
Now – more than ever – we need your help!
Event details to follow.
Don’t want to wait to make an impact? Make a contribution today!
With Gratitude,
Lynn Dolce, MFT and The Edgewood Auxiliary
