Offering Love and Care

Vivian Hernandez

Chaplain & Community Life Coordinator, Programs for Women at The Bowery Mission

Responding with Empathy: Initially, everyone was just in a little bit of shock. We intrinsically understood that this would be harder for women who had already experienced the trauma of homelessness or domestic violence or drug addiction. So we just made it very clear, morning, noon, and night, that we were there to hear how they were doing.

Feeling Safe & Secure: Because of the stability of The Bowery Mission, I actually felt secure in an otherwise very difficult period. Our organization immediately put things in place, one thing after another, to help me feel safe and empowered, like, "This is a very serious and scary time, but it is doable. It’s going to be OK." I went through each day feeling I had the support of a very strong organization with people who cared. In fact, one of my most meaningful memories was being asked in an email how we were doing.

Offering Love & Care: I get teary eyed now when I think of how we never ever thought of closing our doors to women who needed safety, shelter and care. I may not have been able to give a lady a hug when she walked through our Red Doors, but I could still offer love and care!

Bonding as Community: I think COVID-19 brought us even closer to the women because we were all going through it together. Experiencing the same things bonds you. Even if it’s just following the same safety protocols, like being vigilant to wear your mask, wiping down surfaces and using more hand sanitizer than you ever had before.

Moments of Connection: Something that wasn't exactly easy, but was very precious, was caring for any woman who needed to be quarantined onsite. We would serve them breakfast, lunch and dinner in their room, and try to make things nice on the tray with a placemat. We’d bring them whatever they needed, like tablets or books or supplies for making art.