Drawing Close to Others

Natalia Boscodoss

Clinical Services Supervisor, The Bowery Mission

What You’re Proud Of: Our resilience. It's been really hard to show up every single day. We would spend so many hours here, go home to sleep, and then get up to do the same thing. It felt like a battle we were fighting every single day. But the ability to fight through that exhaustion, and just remain unshakable throughout this time, is not something I can attribute to myself. It has to be the grace of God. It just felt like God was carrying us.

On Radical Hospitality: I always try to place myself in our guests’ shoes and think, “If I were walking through these doors, how would I want to be treated?” And the answer is: with love, respect, dignity, care, and concern. Those are all things everyone needs — especially during a time like this, where everything is so unknown and things are changing daily.

On Walking with Guests: I think a lot of us are in this field because we have walked through personal suffering or trauma ourselves, and we want to walk with others in their valleys. That’s what keeps my heart tender, as I hear story after story. Remembering where I have come from in my own life, and how God walked with me, continues to draw me close to others in this work.

On Heroism: I don't think any of us think of ourselves as heroes. I cannot say that I'm a hero. But I can say it's the little things that matter the most. It's showing up. It's being consistent. It's continuing to love and to care. I think this job is a true calling, especially the front line work. And I think in this season, God chose specific people to be in place.

What Gets You Through: What gets me through is knowing that I'm called to be here. I really prayed about the decision to come to New York City and work at the epicenter of the pandemic. I felt the peace of God and I didn't have a lot of fear. So I think it's just remembering that God called me here to this place.

On Loving the Mission: In a lot of ways, The Bowery Mission feels like home. I attribute that in large part to the staff who make it feel that way. In the really hard and dark times, there have been so many glimpses of hope. And it's because of the resilience, the care, the love and the joy of our team. The support and the unity we are able to give one another, the comfort and love, is like nothing I've ever seen.