Dear WES Community, 

We hope all of you are safe and well! 

It’s hard to believe that almost three months have gone by since the COVID-19 pandemic forced WES to close the doors to our 16th Street building and move to an all-virtual environment for our platforms, meetings, and other activities. As the District of Columbia and local area jurisdictions now begin a “phased-in” reopening of all that was halted because of the pandemic, the WES Board and staff have begun discussions of how best to resume the in-person activities at WES that are important to us all.

The one thing that has become apparent is that “returning to normal” is still a long way off. As of this writing, there is a slight downturn in the number of reported local COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths, but the pandemic is by no means over. In starting Phase 1 reopening operations, the DC government has been very clear: social distancing remains very much in place (6 feet and more distance between people, no more than 10 individuals in one group or meeting space, etc.); the wearing of masks, while not mandatory outdoors or in all establishment, is strongly encouraged; and residents are advised to limit any person-to-person interactions by using contactless options, such as curbside grocery or restaurant pickup and touchless banking. 

Uppermost in our minds is ensuring the safety of WES members, renters, and visitors. Together with the Senior Leader and the WES staff, we have determined the following courses of action for the present: 

• For the time being, Sunday platforms will continue to be held virtually, including the addresses, music offerings, coffee hour, and SEEK activities. It is very likely that this will extend into 2021. 
• When the WES building is reopened, observation of social distancing protocols and the wearing of protective masks is not only expected but required, especially if they wish to enter the building (when allowed). 
• A “reopening task force” has been established, made up of two Board members, WES staff, and WES community members identified with certain areas of pertinent expertise. The task force has already met several times and have discussed the following: what proper cleaning protocols and building preparedness are needed for reopening, what areas of our building space will need to be limited or restricted, how the requirements WES puts in place for safe building use will be enforced, and how we communicate with our renters about resuming the use of the WES building. 
• The task force has drafted a Memorandum of Understanding that we expect the childcare center leadership to agree and adhere to in order to resume using our building space. 

These and many other steps are being done carefully and with a calm, non-anxious state of mind on everyone’s part. In planning and discussing the strategies for reopening, the Board pledges to always be open and transparent to the larger WES community. We want to hear your ideas and concerns. 

WES is a strong, resilient community used to dealing with circumstances where maintaining connection with one another and the world around us has been tested by racism, gender inequality, wealth inequality, intolerance towards the LGBT community, and those who would encourage division rather than unity. We work tirelessly to combat those wrongs…and we celebrate the joys of community as well, all the moments that make human interaction special. We will continue to do all of these things even when this health crisis forces us to find new and unprecedented ways of being with one another. The WES building is slowly reopening…but WES itself has never truly been closed! 

Your WES Board of Trustees is more committed than ever to work with you and for you as we navigate this new and unfamiliar territory together. 

With every good wish,

Josh Blinder, Margaret Conway, Trang Duong, Kristin Hunter, Kate Lang, Doug Miller and Lauren Strange