One Year Later This past year saw our community come together in ways we could have never imagined. The COVID-19 pandemic affected every facet of life at Safe Harbor. From the children and youth served who proved to be resilient and flexible in the face of uncertainty, to the dedicated staff who showed up every day, with a smile behind their masks. From our donors, who showed incredible generosity by selflessly giving of their resources, to our volunteers who looked for every opportunity to have a meaningful impact. It is in these extraordinary moments that we are reminded that our community can stand strong in the midst of fear and uncertainty. As she eyes her 10th anniversary at the helm of Safe Harbor Center, we sat down with Executive Director, Leslie Hartman, to discuss how she has led Safe Harbor Center throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Q. What has leading through the COVID-19 pandemic been like for you as Safe Harbor Center’s Executive Director? A. It has been unique and unlike anything I have experienced before. You cannot prepare or practice for moments like this. It brings into perspective what is most important and what you need to pay attention to. I never thought 75% of my week would be navigating a pandemic, but I would never take back what I have learned from COVID-19. The first few weeks of the pandemic were extraordinarily intense. The days were long and required a heightened focus to keep up with everything moving and changing so quickly. Now, it is more of a rhythm where I can think more about the future while also needing to keep people positive and focused on being successful. 5
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Q. How did you keep your residents and staff safe in those early days of the pandemic? A. COVID-19 brought tremendous uncertainty in those early months when we did not know what was around the corner. I know for me personally, I felt the weight of responsibility in keeping our clients and employees safe while dedicating efforts to keeping our doors open. We put numerous measures in place to keep our clients and staff safe in all of our seven programs: increased cleaning measures, social distancing, and closely monitoring our staff and clients if and when they presented symptoms. We implemented staggered staff schedules to minimize risk, while continuing to provide the same high-quality services. Most importantly, we had the discipline to not let fear and panic change the way we make critical decisions.
Q. How did the COVID-19 pandemic require Safe Harbor to operate differently? A. The COVID-19 crisis required us to operate in ways that were new and unfamiliar, changing methods of service delivery, adapting to managing staff remotely, all while dealing with the underlying health challenges an event of this magnitude presents. Like many nonprofit organizations, Safe Harbor faced multiple challenges in addressing the COVID-19 crisis, including: 1) increased demand for services, 2) decreased contributed revenue, 3) decreased volunteer engagement and capacity, and 4) an insufficient technology infrastructure.
