Mino Maajisewin Program Suspending Home Visits
By Jenny Bisonette
Program Director
In an effort to keep children, families, community members, and staff as safe as possible during this uncertain time of COVID-19, the LCO Mino Maajisewin Home Visitation Program is temporarily suspending in-home visits to participating families beginning immediately. Staff will not be providing transportation at this time. If you are in need of a gas voucher or other service, please contact your home visitor or Jenny Bisonette by phone or messaging. We are trying to limit face-to-face contact as much as possible. If you are sick and/or experiencing cold or flu symptoms, please protect yourself and others by staying home.
Mino Maajisewin staff want to maintain contact with our families by calls, texts, messaging, and possibly by “virtual home visits’ using technology such as Skype, FaceTime, or other options. Your home visitor will be contacting you in the next few days to set up a time to connect. Your home visitor will also let you know when we are able to start face-to-face home visits again. As of now, Mino Maajisewin will follow the Wisconsin’s School closure until Monday, April 6, 2020. Please note this timeline may change.
When regular routines are changed and, in a time, when much is unknown, we realize that this can be a time of greater stress for families. Please reach out to Mino Maajisewin staff if you are in need of additional resources or just need to talk through something.
This is a rapidly evolving situation and we encourage you to keep informed by regularly checking the WI Department of Health Services (DHS) DHS website for updates, and to follow @DHSWI on Facebook and Twitter, or dhs.wi on Instagram. Additional information can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) CDC website.
Please contact your home visitor or other Mino Maajisewin staff if you have questions or need additional information. We appreciate your understanding and patience during this difficult time.
Jenny Bisonette, Program Coordinator: (715) 558-7734 / Cell: (715) 699-2959
Melody Guibord, Home Visitor: (715) 558-7736 / Cell: (715) 699-2435
Theresa Martin, Home Visitor: (715) 558-7737
Carla Miller, Family Resource Specialist: (715) 558-7739 / Cell: (715) 558-9462
Tiffiny Nielsen, Home Visitor: (715) 558-7738
Mary Tribble, Grant Manager: (715) 558-7735
Please see below for additional resources that might be helpful when talking to your child about COVID-19. This information comes from the Healthy Families America (HFA) website.
Coronavirus resources
For parents—this section provides resources for parents for how to talk with children about COVID-19. These strategies emphasize reassurance of child fears and anxieties, modeling proper hygiene, establishing routines in the case of school closures, and monitoring media use:
2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), American Academy of Pediatrics
“How to Talk to Kids About Coronavirus, ” New York Times
“What Parents Need to Know About Coronavirus,” New York Times
How to Talk to Your Kids About Coronavirus, PBS Kids
Tips for Families: Talking About the Coronavirus, Zero to Three
Coronavirus and Parenting: What You Need to Know Now, NPR
Talking to Kids About the Coronavirus, Child Mind Institute
Mental Health and Coping During COVID-19, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
How to Prepare for Extended School Closings—and Not Lose Your Mind, Upworthy
Healthy Families America website
For children—this section provides age-appropriate resources for children (e.g., songs and videos) regarding proper hygiene, illness, and visits to medical professionals:
Coping After a Disaster (Ready Wrigley Books), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Ready Wrigley Prepares for Flu Season, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
A Germ-fighting Superhero, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood/PBS Kids
Step-by-step Handwashing with Elmo, Sesame Street/PBS Kids
The Man with the Yellow Hat Explains How Germs Work, Curious George/PBS Kids