The staff and board of Oxford Area Neighborhood Services Center (NSC) have been closely monitoring the local impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Social service nonprofits such as NSC play a pivotal role in supporting our communities in good health, and as such, we will remain open for our clients. At NSC, we are focusing on how we can respond to the rapidly changing situation while supporting our staff, our partners, and the community we serve.
Changes to daily operations
The health and safety of both our employees and our clients is of great concern to NSC. We are following the guidance of both the Center for Disease Control and the County of Chester and are taking proactive steps to implement additional health safety measures in our office to best prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses. Any staff member who is sick will be asked to stay home. We are not utilizing any volunteers at this time. We will be staggering staff hours at the center, so that there will be fewer staff in the building at any one time. We will continue to have Spanish-speaking staff present each day we are open. Our center will be open from Monday through Thursday each week, and closed on Fridays.
While NSC will continue to provide the community with food, rental and utility assistance, starting on Monday, March 30, 2020, NSC will be accepting clients by telephone appointment only, and will not be allowing any clients inside the building for the next two weeks. That includes the clients who are seen by our partner organizations. We will reevaluate this decision at the beginning of April.
We are able to accept donations of food from the community, but this can only be done by appointment as well. Please call us as 610-932-8557 if you have items to donate.
Food pantry orders will be taken over the phone, and food items will be ready for clients to pick up on the porch at a scheduled time. Any applications for rental or utility assistance will be completed over the phone, with appointments being made later for any signatures which might be needed. We have installed signage on both the front and back doors in English and Spanish giving people direction on how to contact us by phone.
Information is evolving and changing as this disease spreads. This health crisis may mean that the community we serve needs our help more than ever, so now is the time to lean into our mission and help everyone to prepare, rather than to panic. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call us.