As we were shopping local businesses in our area yesterday I was reminded that our adult day care center isn’t the type of service that can be supported by “Small Business Saturday” and it made me realize how much our local lawmakers can really affect your business and ultimately your life and the lives of those that use your services.
Pennsylvania lawmakers made sure they disappointed small businesses across Pennsylvania by voting to use the remaining $1.3 billion from the Cares Act to help balance its budget. This move by the lawmakers makes me wonder if the politicians really understand the impact they have on their constituents with each vote they cast. We were hopeful that more funding would be allocated from the government to small businesses-like Ashley’s Chocolates the candy store we visited this morning. When I spoke to the owner she explained that due to Covid-19 and the limited number of customers allowed in its store at one time, they will rely on curb side pickup and online sales to maintain their existence. Restaurants like Piazza Presto and Giavanni’s Pizza and Restraurant and other establishments that we like in our neighborhood will continue to rely on take out orders since inside seating is limited due to covid-19. These businesses would have really benefited from additional Cares Act funds allocated for small businesses.
Retail businesses are not the only businesses feeling the pinch by the lawmakers vote, small businesses that provide services like our Adult Day Center that support people with dementia, autism, and intellectual disabilities also are scrambling to survive.
Voting to use those funds to balance the budget has forced us (Bon Homie Adult Day Center) to make tough decisions for our center. We have struggled with the options to ensure the future of Bon Homie and have decided that in order to give our center the best opportunity to re-open in the Spring we would have to close after the New Year’s Holiday. We have decided to remain closed through the end of February 2021 at least. We hope to re-open in the Spring but that will most likely be based on the availability of the vaccine.
The closure has significant impacts on our caregivers and clients. Many caregivers work and will need to find alternative care for the loved ones while working. For the clients that have been able to return to our program and thrive from the interaction and socialization, they will feel the isolation once again. Our clients that live with Alzheimer’s and dementia will be more affected because their routine and structure to their day will change, which will impact their behavior at home and will most likely make the change very difficult on both clients and caregivers.
The impact on our staff as we close again is vast. We were able to bring most of our staff back to work since July 2020 and off unemployment. Now they will be forced to go back to collecting once we close again in late December 2020. Many individuals working for small businesses, like our employees, need to make a tough decision, do they find new employment or do they try to wait it out to return to the job they love and are dedicated to?
We have learned many lessons as we continue to maneuver through this pandemic, one of the most important lessons is how important our vote is. We have all witnessed how important it is to vote in the presidential race but electing our state senators and representatives has a significant impact on all of us as well. Today many small business owners should be asking if their representatives are voting with their best interests in mind and if their representative is really the right person for the job. I am happy to report that the district our center is located in has a State Representative and a Senator that are incredibly supportive of small businesses. Thank you to State Representative Joe Ciresi and Senator Katie Muth for their continued support that they show the small businesses in their district.
Our center wants to survive this hurdle and be able to reopen in 2021 stronger than ever. We are working hard to provide alternative care options to our caregivers to support them while the center is closed and are hopeful that we will all come out on the winning side. Providing services outside our normal operations will also give our staff some opportunities to work in a limited capacity.
Every small business owner has experienced the ups and downs of their business and the effects of the pandemic on our business has been an overwhelming experience. I recently received an email from one of our caregivers and she shared a quote with me that I continue to reflect on as we make all these difficult decisions.
This quote is really the basis for all small businesses, you have to believe in what your doing in order to work your way through the ups and downs of being a small business owner and find success.
I hope in the Spring of 2021 we (caregivers, staff and owners) can say we believed we would survive this pandemic, and we did it together.
“Shop local businesses in your area, your support can make a difference.”