THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2020 Page 13 ~ LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR ~ Portal To Hope announces changes to services during threat of COVID-19 I tive Tuesday, March 24, 2020, Portal To Hope (“PTH”) will be working remotely, Mondays through Fridays, from 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., and on-call for essential services including emergency shelter and crisis intervention to serve people whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence. These are temporary changes to our hours of operation in order to accommodate Governor Baker’s initiatives to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to do our part in protecting others. The current health crisis requiring social distancing leaves us to develop new protocols, even if temporary, for serving people who are struggling to be free from abuse. PTH’s Team is committed to supporting survivors and the communities that we serve; and we continue to adapt during this trying time in which we are all experiencing in order to ensure that services remain available to survivors and support our communities. FBI warns of teleconferencing and online classroom hijacking during COVID-19 pandemic A s large numbers of people turn to video-teleconferencing (VTC) platforms to stay connected in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, reports of VTC hijacking (also called “Zoom-bombing”) are emerging nationwide. The FBI has received multiple reports of conferences being disrupted by pornographic and/or hate images, and threatening language. Within the FBI Boston Division’s Area Of Responsibility (AOR), which is Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island, two schools in Massachusetts reported the following incidents: • In late March 2020, a Massachusetts-based high school reported that while a teacher was conducting an online class using the teleconferencing softFBI WARNS | SEE PAGE 22 If you know of someone who is in need of support from PTH, please call (781) 338-7678. At times, callers may have to leave a message and should be aware that: (i) all messages are confidential; and (ii) calls will be returned within the same day by PTH Victim Advocates and/or Attorneys for those in need of legal support. People in need of victim advocacy aid may, also, consider emailing PTH for help at portaltohope@aol.com. PTH’s Emergency Shelter Program remains open, and our Benevolence Project will continue to provide support to clients in need. Support Group meetings for adults and youth are temporarily suspended for ten weeks due to social distancing requirements. All other services will continue to be provided via remote but supportive care. PTH provides direct care services and violence prevention education to more than 900 people each year who seek our help and relief from domestic violence and related assault crimes. We could not do our work without the help of our supporters – and we thank our supporters for their partnership in our mission to end domestic violence. Having a number of First Responders, government leaders, medical professionals and military service members who volunteer their services at PTH, we send a special thank-you to them for the work that they do – not just at PTH – but during this time, when their essential services are relied-upon to help vulnerable people. Thank you, and keep well! Regards, Deborah Fallon, Founder —Portal To Hope (“PTH”) is an award-winning Massachusetts nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive services to people whose lives have been impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking crimes. A survivor-driven organization, PTH serves Everett, Lynn, Malden, Medford, Winthrop and neighboring Massachusetts communities. For more information about PTH, please visit www.portaltohope.org. hope that you and your families are keeping healthy and well during the threat of COVID-19. Please be aware that effec
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