Dear John,

Amidst these unprecedented disruptions to our daily routines, it's not surprising that many of us are feeling frustrated. And the lack of information -- or, worse, the misinformation -- coming from the President and his administration is only compounding our concerns and raising our anxiety.

All of us are struggling to understand how to keep ourselves and our families safe -- and how we can help our communities and our country during these trying times. 

As we work to figure out a "new normal" for the coming weeks, it's important to do what we always do at WAVE: turn to the advice of public health experts, evidence and research for guidance. 

The following working paper is one example of information we have found helpful, and we wanted to share it with you:

Working paper – model-based estimates of COVID-19 burden in King and Snohomish counties through April 7, 2020

Clearly, if we want to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, we need to reduce contact. Our goal is to do everything we can to help "flatten or even invert the curve."

Therefore, WAVE staff will be making the changes necessary to reduce our social contacts by 50% - 75%. In the coming weeks, we will not be attending in-person meetings or hosting our usual gatherings or events, and staff will be working primarily from home.

Even as we make these changes, we know that the need to work on gun violence prevention remains high. And, we know that our need for your help continues, too. So, although we won't be getting together in person, you can expect to hear from us in the coming weeks, with requests for you to take important online actions!

In the short-term, we will miss spending time with you and with each other. But, we feel absolutely confident that we will get through this difficult time and come out as a stronger team -- not to mention, as a stronger country -- on the other side. 

Until then, stay engaged with us; take time for self-care; and be well.

Together (if only virtually),

Jeri, Heidi, Kristina, Jacey, Stephanie, Debra, Deja and the rest of the WAVE team