Omaha Housing Authority Updated COVID-19 Response

A Message from Joanie Poore, Chief Executive Officer of Omaha Housing Authority
Omaha Housing Authority Families First Coronavirus Response Act Summary
Employee Rights
OHA Employee Pandemic Frequently Asked Questions
Pandemic Emergency Sick Leave Request Form


Good afternoon, everyone!
We are near the end of two weeks of modified operations and response to the COVID-19 pandemic and today I am reaching out with additional information and updates.  First, however, I would like to start by saying thank you to each and every one of you who works on the OHA team.  There isn’t a single position within OHA that hasn’t been affected by the necessary internal organization and community-wide response to COVID-19.  Your resilience, dedication, and care is seen… even if I or others don’t see each of you daily, your efforts are seen and you are highly valued.  Thank you.
 Second, a special thank you to each of you who has to be in the office or at a work-site to work.  I am grateful that we are able to provide opportunities to keep you working and earning pay during this uncertain time.  I am even more grateful that you continue to be present and deliver high-quality work in spite of fear, confusion, and likely exhaustion with our constantly changing world!  Our tenants appreciate you, your team members appreciate you, your managers and directors appreciate you, and I appreciate you.  Thank you. 
 As I was considering how I could help to share with all of you some inspirational, hopeful words, I considered one of my favorite leadership speakers, Cy Wakeman.  Cy says, “Your circumstances are not the reason you can’t succeed; they are the reality in which you must succeed.”  And, “If you can’t get out of something, go all in.”  Jumping in with both feet, having high personal and professional accountability, and constantly asking yourself, “What would great look like?” creates the opportunity to succeed in spite of the reality we are faced with.  I needed this guidance over the past two weeks more than I even realized until just this moment.  I truly believe that we are still called to deliver greatness in difficult circumstances and we are all in a position to be great, even when we are struggling.  Take care of yourself.  Take care of one another.  Give kindness and compassion.  And, remember that sometimes if you go all-in, you get so busy succeeding that you forget about trying to get out. 
 Last, the four attached documents included:
·       OHA COVID-19 Employee Follow-up 3-26-2020: Additional answers to questions asked over the last week and redistributing relevant questions from last week.
·       COVID-19 FFCRA PTO Narrative & Flow Chart:  Summary of the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) benefits
·       FFCRA Poster – Department of Labor Poster regarding the FFCRA
·       Pandemic Emergency Sick Leave & FMLA Request Form: REVISED due to the FFCRA benefits.
We will continue to provide updates as we learn new information or as circumstances change.  As always, please reach out if you have any questions and share printed versions with those who do not regularly access email.
Thank you,
-Joanie