A Note from our Executive Director
A Letter from our Executive Director
As we go through this season of waiting, it is frustrating to think of our friends who are suffering in service gaps and fear. It may be a comfort to realize that cases of COVID among our unsheltered friends has been quite low. Perhaps this is because most are loners or because they live outdoors but it is a blessing nonetheless. I have been part of a group of advocates for provision of handwashing stations and porta-potties so that sanitary needs are served while public buildings are closed. OTM has paid for hotel rooms for some who are sick or particularly vulnerable. Duke Health Care Transitions received a grant large enough to help with this for our community and our referrals. We currently have 4 people sheltered at the extended stay hotel. (A heart patient waiting for transitional housing, a woman who will receive her first paycheck on Monday, and a single mother and woman with health issues on the waiting for opening at Urban Ministries of Durham shelter).
The community crisis that has just begun (and will affect us greatly), is the exponential increase of people losing their home to eviction. Although there is a moratorium, many renters are unaware and some landlords are ignoring the ordinance and are threatening or locking out tenants who cannot pay their rent due to job loss or COVID. We are making many referrals to Legal Aid but they are not able to help everyone nor are they able to undo what is in the past (lost belongings). I’m afraid that we are facing a long dark winter in this regard. Suffice it to say, I am looking forward to re-opening as soon as it is possible to do safely. Some of our services may not be obvious to everyone, but I am often told that the encouragement and hope we offer is truly life changing.
A story: The other day, while I was working in the office, “Clifton” came by. He is elderly and has several pre-existing conditions (i.e., heart disease, COPD, diabetes). Most recently, he has been sick with pneumonia… so sick, in fact, he couldn’t get out to pay his electric bill. He gave the money to a relative to pay the bill, but she didn’t and hasn’t been seen since. He had been to Social Services who sometimes can help, but their first available appointment was in two weeks and his electricity was scheduled for turn-off at 5pm. Mark answered the door at OTM. Clifton asked for Rev. Carolyn “because she has been so kind to me before.” He explained that his heart monitor, oxygen concentrator, and CPAP machine all need electricity and he didn’t know what he would do without those supports. Mark brought him in (masked and distanced). He wept when I paid the bill.
Blessed to serve,
Rev. Carolyn Schuldt
