Lambert House Policy in Relation to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Monday, June 26th, 2023
Lambert House is no longer requiring masks for indoor programs, though masks are still encouraged. Those who are sick are still asked to stay home and not participate in programs until they are feeling better, and to inform Lambert House staff if they have tested positive for COVID-19 and have attended Lambert House programs recently prior.
Friday, December 16, 2022
Lambert House has updated it’s COVID-19 Policy. Click to review our updated COVID-19 Policy.
Pursuant to our new policy, any known exposures will be updated here:
2/1/23: No known exposures at this time.
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Lambert House began organizing in-person, outdoor activities for LGBTQ+-youth in Seattle and around King County beginning in August 2021 to provide social interaction needed and requested by youth and many families. These activities have included field game days, swimming at the beach, nature walks, and other fun activities. Youth have participated in these in-person activities hundreds of times and have loved them.
We require that staff, volunteers, and youth all provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 for in-person programs, and mask wearing is encouraged when in close proximity to others.
Lambert House continues to offer online groups which are accessible to youth in Seattle and King County who are not able to attend in-person activities for various reasons including, but not limited to lack of access to transportation, lack of support from their family, fear that attending an in-person activity will out them and put them at risk, etc. Lambert House’s online groups are also accessed by LGBTQ+ youth from 27 US states, and 7 other countries. Most youth from outside the Seattle area accessing our online groups have never had access to LGBTQ+ community programs, and many have expressed that participating in our online programs has been life-saving.
Friday, March 27, 2020
While we are physically distancing to protect our youth, families, volunteers, staff, and community we will continue connecting LGBTQ youth and creating community.
To that end, we are bringing some Lambert House programs online beginning this weekend with more to follow in the coming weeks. We have also compiled other important resources for LGBTQ youth. More information about our online groups and these other resources is available here:
Things LGBTQ Youth Can Do Online
Friday, March 20, 2020
LAMBERT HOUSE COVID-19 CLOSURE CONTINUES UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE (But do not despair: For information about ALTERNATIVE LGBTQ+ YOUTH PROGRAMMING see below.)
As of March 20, 2020, Lambert House LGBTQ Youth Center and its satellite groups will continue to be closed to in-person, face-to-face gatherings of youth until further notice. The reasons follow.
From Governor Jay Inslee in March, 2020:
“It is incumbent on all of us to acknowledge the gravity of this public health emergency and take the necessary actions now — not tomorrow, not next week — to slow the spread of the virus and save lives.”
Paraphrased from the governor’s March 2020 proclamations:
Activities of less than 50 people are prohibited, unless organizers of those activities comply with social distancing and sanitation measures established by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Washington State Department of Health guidelines.
From Lambert House Executive Director Ken Shulman:
Lambert House often gathers more than 50 people in our Seattle facility for daily programming. It is not physically possible to practice social distancing of six feet of separation in our small rooms. Therefore, Lambert House will continue its temporary closure to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 until further notice.
Paraphrased from Inslee:
The governor proclaimed a State of Emergency for all counties throughout the state of Washington as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the United States and confirmed person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in Washington State. The spread of COVID-19 has been classified by the World Health Organization as a pandemic that spreads easily from person to person and may result in serious illness or death. Most of the deaths so far in the United States have occurred in King County. COVID-19 disease has and continues to spread quickly across the state of Washington, beyond the original community outbreaks in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, significantly increasing the threat of health risks statewide.
From Ken Shulman:
Lambert house youth hail from 135 ZIP codes in a year. They come daily from all over King County and beyond. Volunteer staff also come from far and wide. Avoiding the daily gathering of up to 70 youth and volunteer and paid staff (and other visitors) from so many different places at this time is necessary to comply with public health directives.
From Governor Inslee:
“The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and its progression in Washington State continue to threaten the life and health of our people as well as the economy of Washington State and remain a public disaster affecting life, health, property or the public peace. Violators of this order may be subject to criminal penalties pursuant to RCW 43.06.220(5).”
ALTERNATIVE LGBTQ+ YOUTH PROGRAMMING
The Lambert House staff is working hard to establish confidential, moderated online chat rooms for our Ultra-Violet Girls Group, our Boys Who Like Boys Group, our Trans Youth Group, and our satellite LGBTQ+ youth social support groups in communities across King County. The chat groups are expected to meet at the same times as those groups normally would meet in-person. We hope to have these groups running in April.
Information about how youth can join one of our LGBTQ+ youth chat groups will be posted at www.lamberthouse.org and on Facebook.com/lamberthouse as it becomes available.
Just like most Lambert house programs, our virtual groups will be for youth ages 11 through 22 only. Adults past their 23rd birthday will not be permitted to participate. The groups will be moderated by skilled Lambert House group facilitators.
We have been asked by one youth to establish online meetings using video. We have considered this carefully. Here’s why we are not doing that at this time:
Some LGBTQ+ youth are not out at home and cannot risk having their parents or siblings see or hear them on a video group. Even if such a youth can participate by typing, while others elect audio or video connections, the closeted youth will appear in other youths’ homes and could be outed that way.
Additionally, even youth with supportive parents often want to engage with peers in conversations in Lambert House social support groups that do not include their parents. This is normal and healthy peer community building.
BUT WHAT ABOUT NON-LAMBERT HOUSE LGBTQ+ YOUTH VIDEO GATHERINGS?
Lambert House encourages LGBTQ+ youth who can be on video platforms safely to share activities with each other while connected through video or audio in real time outside of our groups. You would set up these virtual activities yourself.
For example, a group of friends might want to bake cookies simultaneously in your own homes while staying connected during the baking process.
Or you might want to dance to the same music simultaneously in your own homes while staying connected by video on Zoom or another platform.
You could read a book to each other over video, or comics, or online news, or blogs.
Any fun activity could be turned by youth into a virtual group using a video platform.
Those activities, however, would not be sponsored or moderated by Lambert House and would not provide the confidentiality or other group guidelines that Lambert House follows and Lambert House would bear no responsibility for controlling who participates nor the content or tenor of the groups. You could adopt Lambert House group norms or develop your own.
Invite your friends to youth-led virtual groups carefully and agree with each other at the outset on the question of who can participate. Follow all usual safety guidelines for online social networking and avoid sharing information about where you live. Coach each other in online safety.
LAMBERT HOUSE’S COMMITMENT TO LGBTQ+ YOUTH
Lambert House looks forward to when we can see you safely in-person again. Meanwhile, Lambert House will continue to follow guidance from Public Health - Seattle & King County, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, epidemiologists, and other experts as we find creative ways to support LGBTQ+ youth while keeping program participants, volunteer staff, professional staff, and other visitors to our programs and Seattle facility healthy.
For questions about Lambert House during the closure, please contact:
Ken Shulman, MPA, Executive Director: ken@lamberthouse.org or by text or voice to my cell at 206-491-0596
For donations, fund development, administrative, or policy questions:
Ken Shulman, MPA, Executive Director: ken@lamberthouse.org or by text or voice to my cell at 206-491-0596
For King County Satellite Groups: Laurie Colacurcio, LICSW, Program Coordinator for King County Groups via email at laurie@lamberthouse.org
For other program information: Brandon Knox, Program Manager via email at brandon@lamberthouse.org
HOW TO HELP
Contributions to help sustain Lambert House through and beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic are needed and can be made on our home page at www.lamberthouse.org or by using the Donate button on Facebook.com/lamberthouse
Thursday, March 5th
TEMPORARY CLOSURE MARCH 5 - 22
Dear Lambert House Youth Community Member:
Although no one in any Lambert House program has been diagnosed with COVID-19, out of an abundance of caution Lambert House will be closed to youth from today, March 5th, through Sunday, March 22.
Therefore, we will not be open for programming in our Seattle facility this afternoon and evening.
Our King County satellite groups are also on hiatus through March 22.
We will reassess the situation and make an announcement on March 20th about whether or not the closure will continue beyond March 22nd.
Lambert House has been closely following the evolving guidance from Public Health - Seattle & King County in our effort to protect the health and safety of program participants, volunteer staff, professional staff, parents, donors, and others who visit our Seattle facility and our King County satellite groups.
Considerations that went into the decision to close temporarily include these:
King County has issued this guidance: “Event and community gathering considerations: If you can feasibly avoid bringing large groups of people together, consider postponing events and gatherings.” A large group is defined by the County as 10 or more people.
Lambert House gathers groups of up to 80 people per day in our Seattle facility. These gatherings include youth (up to 50 daily), volunteer staff (12 to 16 daily), professional staff (including two staff in high risk groups due to age and asthma), parents who pick up their children, and vendors who deliver food and program supplies or who visit for other reasons.
Lambert House brings together youth every day from all over King County and surrounding counties. (We serve youth from 135 ZIP codes each year.) The youth attend many different schools and/or jobs, and often travel via public transportation. This increases the possibility of exposure to, and transmission of, COVID-19.
In our Seattle facility and our King County satellite groups the youth constantly interact in close proximity to each other, well within six feet. In fact, that is what you primarily come to us for: community and socialization with friends. Right now, close proximity in large numbers coming from all over the place increases risk.
As you know, most Lambert House programming is delivered by skilled volunteers - more than 80 volunteers per week run our programs. That is our service-delivery model and it benefits LGBTQ youth for whom the diverse pool of volunteers serves many youth as a source of cherished mentors and role models.
A number of volunteer staff have decided to stay home in order to protect themselves from possible exposure although they have no symptoms. This is perfectly understandable and has challenged our ability to have adequate staff coverage for our programs.
Other volunteer staff have stayed home because they have colds. This is the responsible thing for them to do and also impacts our staff coverage level.
On two days this week, meals providers called out.
Our professional staff includes two individuals at high risk due to our age (over 60) and underlying lung condition (asthma). Public Health - Seattle & King County recommends that individuals in high risk groups (over 60 or with underlying lung conditions), like us, stay home. This makes it difficult to provide the level of professional staff support onsite that the skilled volunteers deserve.
While some schools have closed, schools have not been mandated to close. However, Lambert House is not a school. Closing Lambert House should not cause parents with health care jobs to have to stay home from work to be with you in the way that closing a school might do.
Youth that participate in Lambert House programs are typically old enough that you will not have to stay home with an alternative caregiver, such as a grandparent, who might be at higher risk due to their age.
We encourage you to stay in contact with your friends using social media, other online means, or by phone. Some of you may want to organize meet-ups at other locations.
So far, it appears that young people are unlikely to develop severe symptoms of COVID-19. So, meeting up with just youth may not lead to high risk. Confer with a parent/guardian or your healthcare provider if you want help deciding how to maintain social contact with your friends while minimizing your risk.
If you are in crisis emotionally, call:
Crisis Connections 24 hours: 206-461-2232
866-427-4747
If you are suicidal, call the Trevor Project 866-488-7386
Or reach them to chat through their website https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
For up-to-date information about COVID-19: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/news/2020.aspx
Lambert House is continually assessing information as it becomes available to best inform our decisions.
Please feel free to contact me about Lambert House by text or voice to my cell: 206-491-0596.
Ken Shulman, MPA
Executive Director
Lambert House LGBTQ Youth Center
he/him/his
Cell: 206-491-0596