Columbia CARES COVID-19 Update: Columbia CARES will be resuming onsite services by appointment beginning July 1, 2020. We encourage personal distancing and request that clients and guests contact a CARES staff person to schedule an appointment. Temperature and a screening questionnaire will be taken with each person in order to remain onsite. We thank you for your patience and look forward to continue serving our community in the healthiest manner possible. Click on the CARES logo to visit our website and staff directory. Staying ConnectedThe term "social distancing" has become a part of our daily vocabulary, and I don't think it's going away any time soon. So, I'm trying to change my words to "personal distancing". We are social beings which need interaction and to separate ourselves socially is bad for our mental and physical health. My buzz word since we began stressing over COVID-19 has been - practical. Be practical. Keep a personal distance of 6 feet when you are in public. Wear a mask when you are in public places and personal distancing is not possible. If you don't feel well, stay home. If you feel you've been exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 infection, get tested at your local health department. But don't isolate yourself, stay connected!! How can you stay in touch with family and friends? Play online games. I play Words with Friends with folks from my church and others that I haven't seen in several weeks and we message each other to check-in. If you're on social media, DM (direct message) a friend and talk about what's going on. Find Face Book or other social media groups that you share common interests. (My newest group is RuPaul's Drag Race Super Fans). Call or text someone to stay connected. Be practical, practice personal distancing, and stay connected!Excerpt taken from The Color of Light, printed in 1988 but seems just as relevant and current today as then. -by David Bennett Those of us affected by AIDS have become good at keeping our heads when people around us are losing theirs. We don't give ourselves enough credit for it either. We're doing more than surviving crazy times, we're growing stronger, wiser, warmer, and more loving every day. We're beginning to see that our real struggle is with fear. So we try to stay away from people who spread fear, stay out of rooms that are filled with fear, and avoid the media that promotes fear. We can also make a friend of fear. When we feel fear is present, we can simply sit still and find the place in our body where it is most acute. The we can surround this place with loving energy summoned from the rest of our body, energy that we have in abundance. Today I pray for the courage to turn around and calmly face my fears. Even when fear is present, I know that I am not fear, I am love. Don't forget! If you want a home HIV test and you live in one of the 12 South Central Counties of Middle Tennessee, just give us a call to get one delivered to you. 800.961.5332 x 12. |