Avalon welcomes the Government of B.C.’s recent announcement that the province will begin our gradual entry into Phase 3 of the provincial re-opening approach.
In line with our update on May 26, we are now planning how we can facilitate a limited number of safe in-person meetings at our Avalon Women’s Centres.
These in-person meetings will include dial-in options for those that cannot attend, and all our current online and telephone support services (peer to peer meetings, counselling, telephone support) will continue.
As we move into this new stage, we ask for your patience, kindness and understanding. We are not returning to Avalon as we knew it. This is our “new normal” and things will not feel quite the same as in the past. We thank you in advance for the love and compassion that makes Avalon the incredible place it is.
The first stage of our re-opening will begin on Monday, July 6.
During this stage, the following will be in place:
- Avalon will offer one in-person meeting per day, which will be the daily AA meeting at each of our Avalon Women’s Centres. This will only be offered Monday to Friday at this time.
- Spaces will be limited for in-person attendees. Booking online is required and can be done up to one week in advance. You must provide contact details if you are attending as per British Columbia’s public health guidelines. These details will be kept strictly confidential and will only be used if there is a need for contact tracing.
- There will be an option to call into the meeting if you are not able to attend in person. Please view our online meeting calendar for dial-in details.
- We will not be offering in-person drop-in support at this stage. However, Avalon Centre Managers will continue to provide support online or by phone.
- Meetings currently taking place outdoors will continue.
- Counselling services and workshops will continue to take place online.
Please note: We will be unable to offer childminding services and our clothing closets will remain closed until the province enters Phase 4 of the re-opening plan.
What Avalon is doing to keep you safe:
- There will be hand sanitizing stations at the entrances and exits.
- All staff members, volunteers and visitors will be wearing masks.
- There are strict limits to the number of people in the Centre at one time and occupancy limits will be clearly posted in each room.
- There will be designated seating areas with space for physical distancing.
- Centres will be cleaned and disinfected after each meeting.
- Avalon kitchens will be closed.
To help keep everyone safe, all in-person attendees must adhere to the following guidelines:
- If you are feeling ill, you must cancel your reservation and not attend the meeting in person.
- Contact details must be provided in advance of attending as per British Columbia’s public health guidelines. This information will be kept strictly confidential.
- There will be mandatory hand sanitizing at the Centres upon entry and exit.
- Face masks are required. Please bring your own or use a one-time-use disposable
- We are grateful for 7th Tradition donations, however we will not be accepting any cash at this time. If you would like to donate for 7th Tradition you can do so online or using your credit card at the Centre.
We will keep the above in place for a minimum of two weeks, at which time we will assess the situation. If we feel we can continue moving forward, we will add additional in-person meetings to our Centres with the above guidelines still in place.
To reserve your place for an in-person meeting, please book via the meeting schedule. Please note that you can only book a meeting space up to one week in advance.
For more information, please check out our FAQs. You can also get in touch with a Centre Manager or email info@avaloncentres.org with any questions.