We need to support each other as the world spins unsteadily

An update from CHLY Executive Director Jesse Woodward.

Dear listeners, readers, supporters.

It's pretty late at night as I am typing this. It's been a wild week at the station. Who would have thought that we would see the words “pandemic”, empty store shelves, toilet paper hoarding, Canada's borders closed, and British Columbia's government declaring a State of Emergency in 2020?

I doubt most of us were expecting this. Remember when a potential war with Iran was the big news item? Or Wet'suwet'en and the blockades? Oh right we think to ourselves, that happened too this year, and we're only three months into the year. Heck, it's an election year in the United States!

But this is the reality we are now facing and for most of us, I imagine reality is really sinking in now. Public Schools are closed, as is Vancouver Island University and most other post-secondary institutions in British Columbia. Stores, restaurants, café, venues, and more are closing or moving to reduced hours. Some voluntarily, some by the direction of the Provincial Government and the BCCDC. Many I imagine are worried about making rent even more than usual, and everything is moving so fast!

So what does this mean for the station or the community that holds us all together?

COVID-19's impact on the station in this Provincial State of Emergency.

This is hard but necessary. Due to the current State of Emergency in British Columbia, we are moving forward with social distancing measures recommended by the BC Centre for Disease Control. This is to ensure that the station remains operational as it is part of our CRTC mandate to deliver relevant and reliable news in times of crisis. This means we are taking precautionary measures to keep our staff and volunteers safe from infection by barring public or volunteer access to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This means that indefinitely, the station will only be open to staff, and key volunteers approved by me.

This also means that CHLY will likely sound a bit different for the time being. Shows normally hosted live will be prerecorded remotely, and some will be repeats of older shows from the archive. You may also hear some programming from other stations across Canada as we pull content from the NCRA program exchange. It could get a little bumpy as we work day by day to keep you connected.

📱📞Help us keep morale up. What can the listener do to help? Give the station a call and leave a kind message for our staff, our wonderful volunteers, and the wonderful people in our communities. We know it's feeling rough, but a few kind words heard on-air can go a long way to make people feel good. We'll share your message on our air-waves, website, this newsletter, and social media to help spread the cheer. Call: (250) 740-1017 to leave a positive message.

We will endeavour to keep you informed via our airwaves and other channels like this newsletter and social media as things develop. We will also work to support our community by keeping you informed of how you can support your local music, arts, and culture scene on the Salish Sea.

We very much look forward to the crisis resolving and the station returning to normal operations. Please do your part to #flattenthecurve by socially distancing yourself.