The Portage Community Revitalization Corporation (PCRC) is moving full-steam ahead throughout the current pandemic crisis.

Executive Director Victoria Espey says things are certainly different for them and they're not working out of their office. She notes the PCRC team is all working from home.

"But believe it or not, I would say arguably now, with COVID-19 having an impact on our community, we're probably busier than we ever have been," says Espey. "It's been going well. There are lots of online tools these days that make it easier for teams to stay connected. So, we have constant team meetings all of the time."

She notes they're discussing what's happening in Portage as well as keeping up with announcements from the province and with federal announcements. Espey says they're also discussing how to better serve our community.

"So, right now, the big focus for us is making sure people in our community have access to safe housing and access to food," continues Espey. "We've been working with lots of different community organizations to really identify how we can help."

An example of their efforts includes current work with Rest-A-Bit to figure out how they can get temporary housing up and running for people in our community who are experiencing homelessness, or people who don't have access to housing who have to be isolated or quarantined due to testing.

She notes the food bank is in great need of donations and the soup kitchen, as well as CMHA, are working differently than the norm. Espey explains they hope they can have efforts in place soon to fill those gaps.

For those who require food or other needs, Espey says you can contact their office, noting their team is well-versed in what's currently available. Mari Lawrence, Wawokiya coordinator, has contacted many human service delivery agencies here to figure out what change looks like in those other organizations.

You can go to the PCRC website and check out Access to Social Services in Portage la Prairie During COVID-19. The city website also has that link. She notes they try to keep it as up to date as much as possible.

Espey says this means that those looking for addiction services or mental health services, or even have to contact Child and Family Services, can find all of the changes to those services listed on one link online. It shows who to contact, what number you use, and what hours are in effect. She notes if you still have further questions, any PCRC team member can be contacted by phone or email found on their website.

Phone: (204) 240-7272