Message from Suzy Smith, owner of Suzy’s Helping Hands:
I was raised as a military brat for the first 20 years of my life. My father was an Army officer and we traveled to many different parts of our wonderful country and world, including two years in Taiwan and Mannheim, Germany. My time in Germany impacted and changed my life after witnessing the after effects of World War II. Seeing communism and socialism on the other side of the Berlin Wall changed my life forever. As a young girl understanding how the Europeans, Jewish and the Americans got back on their feet has been my mantra through every crisis that I’ve had to deal with in my life.
But COVID-19? Wow! Was I blindsided by this, as many of you were. This has not only been challenging but frightening on how to handle the crisis with my employees, clients and team of affiliates that we work with. We were considered an “essential” business by the state of Ohio for moving and relocating partly because: 1) folks still had to get out of their homes due to the fact that they were closing in April; 2) folks had passed away and their home had to be cleared out; and 3) families were moving out of state and needed help in handling the logistics of the move and preparing their home for sale.
Our top priority is the safety of our clients and staff. Suzy’s Helping Hands is committed to adhering to the following CDC and OSHA guidelines during the COVID-19 crisis:
- Staff members wear a face mask and gloves at all times, and we urge clients to wear their own face coverings — if they like.
- We carry and use hand sanitizer in all of our vehicles.
- We ask that clients limit the number of people in their homes when we visit to two individuals.
- We continue to make in-person consultation visits and also do those by phone, if you prefer
- Please call and reschedule your appointment if you are experiencing any of the following: fever, cough, or have had contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 or has exhibited similar symptoms
One of my fears is: What if I get the disease and infect someone or someone else infects us? To combat this fear, I searched my memory bank and decided I had faced worse situations than this in my life. I knew that with my faith and my team we would follow the rules, pray a lot, and take care of our clients through this period of time when it is essential for them to move forward.
While none of this is to be taken lightly, I have joked that when I take the mask off from my face and drape it around my neck, it makes a very fashionable jewelry statement. And sometimes the latex gloves get stuck when zipping up your pants after visiting the ladies room!
We don’t know how long this crisis will continue but as we begin to start the process of reopening businesses in our great country, we will continue to go by the guidelines we have been following. We will continue with faith and prayer that no one gets infected or that we don’t infect anyone we are working with. We pray for our seniors in the communities that are at a higher health risk and we will continue to defer to the villages, realtors, trustees and our fabulous affiliates on how to navigate through this challenging situation.
