The New Normal in Cocoa, Florida

9/30/2020 (Permalink)

Community ties are very important to SERVPRO. Let our technicians handle any damage done to your property.

How can it be almost October already?!  I have never before experienced nine months that felt so short and like an eternity all at the same time.  2020 has been a year like no other.  We always face our share of difficulties in any given year, but this one, well… let us just say that 2021 cannot get here quickly enough.

In this unprecedented year we have already dealt with massive fires, impending war, Tiger King obsession, toilet paper shortages, murder hornets, social and political upheaval on many fronts, and flooding and wind damage from a record-breaking hurricane season that is still not over.  As if that wasn’t enough, we are also dealing with a global pandemic that is like nothing anyone has seen in over a hundred years.

Everyone, everywhere, has had to adjust to what is being described as the “new normal”.  People are finding new ways of interacting with each other, online shopping and Zoom meetings are becoming ubiquitous, grocery and food delivery companies are seeing a huge boom while small brick and mortar business are struggling just to keep the doors open.  We saw the highest rate of unemployment since the Great Depression but companies like Amazon are hiring people as fast as they can to keep up with the demand. Businesses of all kinds are developing new ways to reach out and engage their customers and get their products out to them.

But as I look around, I am grateful that we are living in this time.  We have the knowledge and the tools that make adapting to these difficult challenges possible.  High-speed internet is widely available and major advances in communications technology have given us many avenues to maintain and even grow our businesses and personal connections.  If this pandemic had hit us twenty years ago we might have been looking at a very different outcome.  Cocoa residents were not able to work and go to school from home, grocery and food delivery were almost unheard of, and video communication was just in its infancy. Unemployment would have been catastrophic, and we would have been much more isolated from one another.  So, if there is any silver lining it is that the ingenuity of man has allowed us to chart a course through this storm much more easily.

We here at SERVPRO of Central Brevard have had to discover our new course as well.  It soon became clear to us that no matter what was going on in the world, even in our backyards, that certain constants do not go away.  Water lines still break, fires still blaze, and storms continue to come our way even when people are sick.  And when they do, we still need to jump into action and provide the help that is needed.  We have just had to adjust the way we do it.  SERVPRO IICRC certified techs have been providing bio-hazard cleanup for years.  That training and experience means that we know exactly what to do and how to protect ourselves and our clients while we do the work that is so desperately needed.  Because of this experience we are in a position to be a valued resource in our community for preventative cleaning and decontamination when an exposure has happened.

The world around us has changed. The ways we socialize, conduct business, and gain an education have changed.  What has not changed is the tenacity of the human spirit and our amazing ability to take on and overcome all the challenges thrown at us.

Hang in there, we will only get through this together. Stay safe, stay connected to each other, and call if you need us.  We are always here to help.