Milk Crate Theatre - COVID-19

With the uncertainty of COVID-19 and its impact on the community we have made the decision to proactively suspend Milk Crate Theatre programs from Friday, 20 March onwards.

This suspension will impact the current workshops at the Ozanam Learning Centre (OLC) and our Youth Program at Evolve Housing for Youth.

Round 2 activities including workshops at Ozanam Learning Centre, Evolve Housing for Youth and Exodus and sessions to begin the development process for our new work that were scheduled to start late April may have to be pushed back. We will continue to monitor the situation and post further information to advise when these activities will be able to commence.

This decision was not made lightly, and we understand that this news will be disappointing for many of our participants. However, we think that in light of the current situation that this is an important move to protect the health of all our participants, artists and staff as well as the rest of the community.

Whilst we work this challenging period of isolation together, the Milk Crate team are going to work on some exercises and activities that people can do at home to keep the creativity going and to help you pass time. These activities will be shared via our email and social media channels so please make sure you are signed up. If you cannot access email or social media, please let us know and we can work out other ways to share the activities with you.

The Milk Crate Theatre team may need to work remotely through this period. However, we will still be contactable via email on mail@milkcreatetheatre.com or mobile 0447 803 210.

Laura our Social Worker will be available on socialworker@milkcratetheatre.com or 0427 199 193.

SOCIAL DISTANCING

Here is the information from the Department of Health on Social Distancing.

What is social distancing and why is it important?

Social distancing includes ways to stop or slow the spread of infectious diseases. It means less contact between you and other people.

Social distancing is important because COVID-19 is most likely to spread from person-to-person through:

• direct close contact with a person while they are infectious or in the 24 hours before their symptoms appeared

• close contact with a person with a confirmed infection who coughs or sneezes, or

• touching objects or surfaces (such as door handles or tables) contaminated from a cough or sneeze from a person with a confirmed infection, and then touching your mouth or face.

• So, the more space between you and others, the harder it is for the virus to spread.

What can I do?

If you are sick, stay away from others – that is the most important thing you can do.

You should also practise good hand and sneeze/cough hygiene:

• wash your hands frequently with soap and water, before and after eating, and after going to the toilet

• cover your cough and sneeze, dispose of tissues, and use alcohol-based hand sanitiser, and

• if unwell, avoid contact with others (stay more than 1.5 metres from people).

As well as these, you can start a range of social distancing and low-cost hygiene actions now. These simple, common sense actions help reduce risk to you and to others. They will help to slow the spread of disease in the community - and you can use them every day - in your home, workplace, school and while out in public.

SOCIAL DISTANCING & MENTAL HEALTH

We understand that periods of isolation can be challenging for many of you and would like to assure you that we are still here for you! Here are some tips from Talkspace to help you look after your mental health through this period.

• Accentuate the positives Focus on what you are able to do during this time. You're finally home - organize, read, rest, cook, and play. Take advantage of the time this provides.

• Don't overload on news Identify where you get your news and check in once or twice a day. Staying constantly connected to the unfolding news won't be helpful - remember that it doesn’t change anything - and make sure your news sources are reliable.

• It won't last forever Remember, this contagion will end. New stories, open-ended developments, and the unknown are anxiety provoking for sure, but be mindful that this outbreak won't last forever.

• Set a schedule Keeping a daily rhythm helps manage the day productively. Even small items such as eating around the same time as usual, and dedicating time to play, work, and rest, can work wonders.

• Be social, virtually Create a virtual schedule with friends and colleagues. Real time office banter, coffee and dinner dates aren’t advised, but virtual ones can work just as well. Don't leave yourself out of the loop - be intentional with your connections now. Scheduling a virtual meet-up at least once a day can make all the difference as you negotiate the long hours alone.

• Stay busy Gather up the activities and keep yourself busy.

If you are finding things difficult to cope with, make sure you reach out to your support team or any of these services:

• In an emergency call 000

• Lifeline: 13 11 14

• Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636

• NSW Mental Health Line: 1800 011 511

• Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467