Mayor Ginny Dickey issued a proclamation at the Aug. 17 Town Council meeting in support of declaring Wednesday, Sept. 1, as Second Responders Day.

“Second responders provide support to first responders and have served the community throughout the pandemic, helping put lives back together during a critical time of emergency,” Dickey said. “The pandemic impacted the entire community and caused trauma and suffering to many, and second responders, who include staff from both public and private sectors, have risked their health to provide support to ensure that people can thrive in the face of adversity.”

Dickey said second responders go above and beyond to provide numerous services to the public, such as outreach to people experiencing homelessness during deadly summer heat, providing meals and wellness checks for homebound older adults, providing counseling and mental health services to those in crisis, providing assistance with housing search and stabilization, ensuring families do not go hungry, helping domestic violence victims safely plan so they can flee violence, providing transportation to medical appointments, assisting and securing jobs and finding unique ways to serve the public during the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19.

“Many would not have survived the pandemic without the vital services provided by second responders,” Dickey said.