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Benzie Senior Resources Requiring Masks for Staff, Strongly Encouraging Them for Visitors

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While the Delta variant continues to become more and more prominent, local senior facilities are taking every precaution they can to help protect their vulnerable population.

Benzie Senior Resources announced on Wednesday that they’re requiring masks for their staff and volunteers, and strongly encouraging masks for their visitors to their senior center and administration office.

“For us, it’s not political, it’s just about keeping those who are the most vulnerable safe,” said Assistant Director Dawn Bousamra.

Bousamra says it’s been a tough year and a half for those that provide resources to seniors.

“We’ve had to adjust how we handle meal delivery for our seniors, we had to close our senior center because we couldn’t gather in groups,” she said.

But just as things seemed like they were getting back to normal as Benzie Senior Resources reopened in July, like many counties, Benzie got hit with the Delta variant.

“When we hit substantial in the category of having the Delta variant, that’s when we decided that we needed to go back to masks for staff and volunteers for the safety of our seniors,” said Bousamra.

They’re highly encouraging their visitors to wear one, too.

“We are not going to turn people away who aren’t wearing one, but we’re back to being actively promoting the safety for the folks who come in who are immunocompromised, can’t get the vaccine,” Bousamra said.

The organization says if a case is contact traced back to their facilities, that could affect programs like their Home Delivered Meals program.

“There’d be approximately 225 people that would not get food on the days that we were closed,” said Jeff Stockman, Home Delivered Meals Route Coordinator. “There’s not another option for them.”

The program has over 60 volunteers that help deliver meals to these homebound seniors. If one person has COVID, that means meals won’t be delivered.

“Those are our people,” said Stockman. “I don’t know why I’d do. Just knowing that somebody wouldn’t eat.”

Bousamra said the organization is doing this for the good of their community.

“It’s not us trying to take control of any one, it’s just asking for that little bit of time just to do that for others,” she said. “We hope that our community will come together and respect that.”

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