A Message of Encouragement

To our Family House Family,

We want to reach out to first and foremost connect with you to let you know that we are thinking of you and holding all of you in our hearts.  We hope you are safe and taking care of yourselves and your loved ones.  These are unprecedented times we’re living in and we want you to know that we are still here, honoring our mission every day,  to keep families together while their child is fighting a life threatening illness. As we cope with shuttered businesses, financial uncertainty,  school closures, shelter-in-place-orders,  and this virus, it is completely understandable to feel overwhelmed, anxious, or sad among a wide range of emotions as we navigate this confusing moment in time. During this time, taking care of your mental health is as important as your physical health, now more than ever. Please remember; it is completely normal to feel anxious as the uncertainty of this moment is clear and ever present in the news, on our screens, and in our conversations. It’s also normal to feel lonely; even if we’re all in our homes with our families 24/7! Now is the time to think out of the box, get creative and shelter-in-place guilt free.  Everyone’s days will look different.  Please just remember to be kind to yourselves.  There is no right way to get through this moment. 

Please know that you’re not alone. We’re all attempting to find ways to connect It is so important now more than ever to reach out to family, friends, and your community for help and connection. Once we settle into a new normal and try to become less frustrated by our altered lives, we can make room for more positive things to come into focus such as deepening our relationships with our family, friends and even ourselves as we are forced  to slow down and reflect and focus on what’s most important.
 

For now, be well, as always, take care of each other and know that your Family House family is holding you close and is here for you.

Elan Slavin, MSW

Family House Social Worker