Showing Up for Our Guests

Jose Vazquez

Clinical Advocate, The Bowery Mission

My Role: I'm a case manager. When COVID initially hit I was working at our emergency shelter in Tribeca.

Early COVID Memories: I would take these long walks. I remember how the streets were totally isolated, especially around Canal Street. It was surreal, like a Sci-Fi movie. Like, “Is this really happening? This can’t be happening.” But there were these small moments of hope too. Even just a beautiful spring day with the sun shining and the flowers and trees growing leaves again.

On Perseverance: My goal was to do what Cal Ripken did for over 2,000 games. He showed up everyday to work. If I could do that, and if I could stay composed, then I could be another presence to support my teammates and my clients.

Overcoming Fear: I struggled a lot with fear, especially when we didn’t know a lot about what was going on or how to respond. It was hard traversing the subway station and trying to love someone when you were also thinking about self-preservation and protecting your family at home. There were good days, there were bad days. But I knew it was an opportunity for me to grow in character.

A Moment of Hope: When people took the time to donate handmade cloth masks. Toward the beginning there was someone who sent me a card, I don't know how. It said, "A friend told us about you, I have these masks." When I sent back a thank you card, they sent us even more.

First Things First: COVID was an opportunity to look at your value system and ask what was really important. The keyword was “essential.” Life is fragile, so what matters to you? Is it family members, is it friends, is it your relationship with God? There were some things that weren't as important as I thought they were. I’ve carried that with me today.

Lessons Learned: This is one of the biggest things we've faced as a nation since 9/11. When the rubber met the road, I learned my faith needed to grow. How do I apply faith to the uncertainties of life? When I don’t feel love, how do I continue showing love in action? I also learned how resilient people are, even in moments of fear and anxiety. Expressing fear is not a weakness, it’s a sign that we’re human.

What Kept You Going: God's grace helped me get up every morning and come to work. Also, encouragement from loved ones and other coworkers. I saw that we were serving people who needed us and didn’t have a place to go. I also saw so much courage in the people I worked with, as well as other essential workers across the city.

Seeing Impact: I remember the resilience of the people we served. They were dealing with not having a place to live, unemployment, personal problems — and now on top of that they were dealing with the pandemic. I was grateful that, amidst so many things shutting down, our doors stayed open. There was always an opportunity for someone to find some kind of support. I saw guests transition from the emergency shelter into our Residential Program so they could move forward. Those are BIG moments for us.