Director’s message for CREC students and tutors

Dear CREC students, tutors and friends,

We hope you are all well and safe during these incredibly challenging times.

We are well aware that our work, which is at the heart of children and family services, is demanding from us unthinkable choices and decisions. The COVID-19 virus is having a huge impact on us all personally and professionally, impinging dramatically on all aspects of our home and work lives.

We are very aware that you will all be struggling to support your families, meet your work demands, and trying to keep your studies going. These are great pressures and we are very appreciative of the need for us all to be flexible, supportive, and generous as the situation develops.

Social distancing and isolation is such an alienating requirement, but strangely we have found most around us are responding in a spirit of solidarity and friendship across borders and boundaries.

Our friends, colleagues, and neighbours are reaching out and offering such support that it enables us to dream of a better world emerging after this. 

We count ourselves very lucky to have a room of our own, a garden full of spring, and space to walk in once a day. Many others do not have such privilege.

For us, the loss of daily contact with those we love most is hard, but we are trying to look ahead to a better time when we might reflect on this shared experience and know the lessons we have learned from all this pain.

Things must change and we are hoping that we, 'us', can play our part in rebuilding something better.

We wish you all strength as you navigate these perilous times, each in your own context but joined by our shared concerns.

Warmest,
Chris and Tony, CREC Directors