Message from Mayor Moreno: Be kind, pull together as a community
By Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno
–Hi everyone, I’m Atascadero’s Mayor, Heather Moreno. Let’s be honest. Our lives have been completely upended by COVID-19. It’s a trying and stressful experience for us all, and I can’t tell you enough how very proud I am of our community. Atascadero is vibrant, passionate and ever-generous. As you know, we live in a small town filled with many wonderful people with small-town core values that are very important to us.
Atascadero may be small, but we can be mighty! And getting through this crisis, for both people and businesses, is going to require strength, innovation, human connection and forward thinking. It will require putting our energy and talents toward helping others, rather than focusing on circumstances we don’t control, or being afraid of what might happen. This is where Atascadero shines. We can all move from fear to love, and from criticism to compassion, for our neighbors, our fellow residents and the community at large. If we all continue to pull together and help one another, I promise you, we will all get through this.
Right now, more than ever before, it’s important that we all do our part; even in what may seem like very small ways, but that can make a significant difference. I’m asking that we all be kind to one another, help one another, be considerate, be nice, shop responsibly, be patient, and please don’t hoard, as there’s just no need. Continue to support our local businesses by shopping with them by telephone or online; take advantage of the many businesses who are offering curbside pickup or delivery; and drive-through, order take-out or get delivery from our local restaurants. This will help our local businesses, their employees and our community as a whole.
Please, check in on your neighbors, friends and family members to see if they need help with something or even just to talk. While we’re all being responsible and caring citizens right now by Sheltering At Home for a while, we can still maintain contact with other people by phone, email, regular mail, and all the technology channels available.
We have a number of local church groups and other organizations stepping forward to help by shopping for food, supplies or prescriptions, making deliveries, taking people to essential appointments, or in any other way that they can. We’ve published a list of this information on the City’s website at www.atascadero.org. Many of our local grocery and other stores have extended their hours or have scheduled certain hours of the day especially for seniors and other at-risk community members, so that they can successfully and more safely obtain their essential needs. In addition, several of Atascadero’s commercial property owners are waiving rent for April to help their business tenants through this time. These are great examples of how our community is coming together to make sure everyone is taken care of, and I ask that we all respect and support these efforts.
Please help keep our town safer by following the Shelter At Home guidelines. By remaining calm, being kind to one another and following the directives from our local, state and federal officials, we WILL slow down and limit the spread of the virus, and we’ll help to keep everyone in our community safer. I encourage everyone to continue to stay accurately informed by visiting www.ReadySLO.org or by calling (805) 543-2444.
Atascadero’s people and businesses are tough, and the economy is resilient. By working together and caring for each other, we can create something amazing and come out stronger on the other side. Thank you!
