As effect of pandemic grows, so does community need: Salt Spring organization – Times Colonist
March 30, 2020
Many people think of Salt Spring Island as idyllic.
But it’s not immune to the ravages of the COVID-19 virus, which has left many businesses closing their doors.
Many people are seasonally employed and low income, and lots are homeless, Rob Grant, executive director of Salt Spring Island Community Services, said Monday.
“We’ve got a food bank and a shelter that serves a certain part of the population. But now we’re going to have to stretch to serve a whole new segment of the population that maybe never would have connected with us before. The working poor are now tilted over to the unemployed.”
Barb’s Bakery and Bistro, a community hub in the heart of Salt Spring, was the latest casualty of the virus. It closed its doors on Sunday and 17 employees were laid off, Grant said.
