By Margaret Peters, Administrative Assistant at the Village at Cataumet
Working at a homeless shelter means coming to work every day. It does not matter if it is raining, if there is a blizzard, a hurricane or even a pandemic.
We come every day with the hope of helping others. We cannot do that without the help we receive from some of the most amazing, kind and generous people and organizations I have ever had the honor of meeting.
Here at the Village at Cataumet, we have had the benefit of more kindness than I could ever list. We have had three different churches bring dinner for our residents every single month for years.
We have the good fortune of other churches and organizations coming and doing special events such as a Harvest Festival; a monthly birthday party for children born during that month; and building and planting vegetable gardens.
Angel House Office Manager Lisa Robertson (left) and Case Manager Janis Goodnow have adhered to safety protocols, all while continuing to support clients at the Hyannis shelter.
Through Horizons for Homeless Children, PALS (Playspace Activity Leaders) come every week to play with our children so parents have time to accomplish various tasks without their kids.
We have amazing volunteers that show up week after week to assist the staff in whatever way they can. We even have a few helper elves that prefer to remain anonymous.
Maybe all of this would come to a screeching halt when the coronavirus hit. But did it? The coronavirus has done nothing to slow our wonderful benefactors down.
We have been fielding calls, all asking, “what can we do, how can we still help, what do you need?”
We have had deliveries of bags and boxes of non-perishables, diapers, personal care items and monetary donations honoring our staff.
We are all scared, anxious, stressed and trying daily to put on a brave face.
You may ask what made this employee decide to write this testament to our benefactors — it was a donated roll of sanitizing wipes that I have not been able to find and we were rapidly running out of. I literally choked up when I saw it.
Thank you to every individual, group, agency, and organization that is spreading joy and kindness!
Volunteer Susan Gilbert holds her hands in the shape of a heart after dropping off food from the Falmouth Service Center to our Carriage House Shelter.
