Since COVID-19 vaccines first became available, the world has crossed its collective fingers, hoping that we are approaching the end of a devastating period in our history. Then came 2021! But the momentous events we have seen so far this year have not diminished COVID-19’s continuing carnage. As of this writing, the pandemic has taken the lives of close to two million of the world’s citizens, almost 400,000 here in the US. The daily recitation of these statistics, and the constant news images of graphs with upward sloping lines, have numbed many of us to the horrific human tragedy that these numbers represent. The loss of life and health is, unfortunately, only a part of the misery; we have also had to endure the loss of livelihoods and community.
We at BHH, like everyone else, hope that as the year progresses, we will see a reversal in the slope of the lines on the ever-present graphs. We also expect, though, that the lingering impacts of COVID-19 will continue to affect the need for our services. People who have lost their jobs or their businesses will continue needing help to put food on the table, to pay their bills, to take care of their children or get medical attention. Sadly, none of these lingering symptoms of the pandemic can be vaccinated away. As grateful as we are for the overwhelming support of our community at the height of the pandemic, we realize that for many of its victims, the pain and loss will linger. We plan on being there for them - and we know that you will, too. Thanks for the support, and stay safe.
