Below is a message of hope written by Chris Lyons, Executive Director of AIM Services Inc. 

“It is human nature always to find fresh cause for optimism.”

"I see it every day, here in our remarkable Saratoga Community! Mostly in quiet unassuming ways, a gesture of support; a meal delivered or paid for, Garland Nelson singing on Facebook. It is there in the (masked) smile from the front desk at the dry cleaners; a Town Judge leaning in to hug you in line at Walmart (“Oh wait, elbow pump, right?”). I see it in the dedication of front line workers who care for our homeless, our elders, our domestic violence victims, our ill, our folks with diverse abilities; our marginalized citizens. It is displayed in teachers waiving out their cars at their students; front porch song and dance; wildly creative home videos on the internet, and families meeting in virtual space.

I see it in the AIM Services employee who literally lived at Saratoga Hospital for two weeks to support two individuals with non-virus illnesses.

Optimism is inherent in the people you see get up every day in this town and do their jobs in the face of possible infection, uncertainty and fear. I could write a book about the folks I have seen rise to the occasion all around me.

We live and work in a very ambitious community. Eager for growth and prosperity, we have developed a sense of continuous urgency that threatened the pleasant pace of small town life. Those days are (temporarily, at least) over. As Clarence, the angel in training once observed, we’ve “been given a great gift… a chance to see what the world would be like without [all of us constantly moving at the speed of sound]”

COVID-19 has dictated a new pace and with it new opportunities to renew our spirit, the spirit that informs the love and support we have shown each other through this time and what our Community might be when it is all over. I’m hopeful."