Moral quandary: How to help people without putting them at risk
| New York
Like many who serve the homeless, Josiah Haken and the staff at New York City Relief had to scramble last week as they tried to readjust to a world that had suddenly changed.
The relies on its volunteers, Mr. Haken says. For decades the organization has been able to house cadres of volunteer workers from around the country. Most devote a full week to service, staying in the organization鈥檚 facility in New Jersey and helping out as the agency鈥檚 fleet of relief buses deliver hot soup, socks, and counseling services to five sites throughout New York City.
Last week, their group of volunteers, mostly students from Michigan, cut short their service. And amid the countless disrupted routines of American life, those scheduled to come over the next month have understandably canceled, he says. Most local volunteers, too, are following government guidelines and staying home.
Why We Wrote This
What if your job means serving the most vulnerable? Groups who care for homeless and elderly people are grappling with how to still help during a pandemic.
[Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service,聽all our coronavirus coverage聽is free. No paywall.]
鈥淪o we just started to think about what it means for us to go forward,鈥� says Mr. Haken, the at New York City Relief, which has a paid staff of about 20 people in addition to the volunteers. 鈥淵ou know, how do we follow in the direction of our faith and what our faith leads us to do? And so at the same time, we realized that we need to be smart and wise and careful.鈥�
It鈥檚 become one of the ironies of the COVID-19 crisis. In times of national crisis and disaster, residents instinctively respond by helping out in overwhelming numbers. Communities respond to the fears and anxieties surrounding life鈥檚 disruptions, people often long to gather, find solidarity and solace in numbers, and a willingness to help those in need.
But now, instead of the laying on of hands, there is the duty to wash hands and stay six feet away. Instead of gathering to comfort and console, the way to help most is to 鈥渟ocially distance,鈥� even during a particularly vulnerable time in our common lives together.
Yet given how closely the relief agency works with people living on the streets, the pandemic is now challenging their very mission, presenting the staff with moral and logistical dilemmas that are, at once, both deeply personal and deeply profound.聽
鈥淭he people who are often forgotten in these kinds of crises are the people who are at the bottom of the economic ladder 鈥� people who are homeless are food insecure,鈥� says Mr. Haken. 鈥淵et you have people in the street who are already more likely and prone to have compromised immune systems,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o what does it mean for us to consider that factor? It鈥檚 a lot.鈥�
So far, being smart and wise and careful includes following CDC guidelines, and readjusting their service routines. Workers and remaining volunteers now wear gloves at all times, not just when they serve food, and change them every 15 minutes.聽
They鈥檝e always washed hands and used hand sanitizer, but now they鈥檙e providing stations for their clients to clean their hands. As the lines form for their services, they encourage them to maintain a six feet space between them.聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to find that middle ground to achieve our ultimate mission, which is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide the poor wanderer with shelter,鈥� says Mr. Haken, noting how his agency roots its mission in the mandates of Isaiah.聽
Still, as the global crisis deepens, congregations and social service agencies around the country are facing growing uncertainty, and many programs may need to be curtailed as volunteers and staff members stay home to protect not just themselves, but the vulnerable populations they serve.
Physically distancing, socially communicating
At the New York Society for Ethical Culture in Manhattan, volunteers and staff have had to readjust as well in a time of social distancing.聽
It鈥檚 a term that Elinore Kaplan, a long-time volunteer at the historic humanist congregation, just across the street from Central Park, finds frustrating.聽
鈥淲e may be physically distancing, but we are socially communicating,鈥� says Ms. Kaplan, co-chair of the Society鈥檚 communications committee. 鈥淚 think in every sense, our being a community, our being an ethical family and extended family, we can continue to be present with each other in a variety of ways.鈥�
Most of the society鈥檚 staff had already been working from home, but Ms. Kaplan felt a deep need to be present with the few staff members that came in that day, in an office following CDC protocols. As co-chair of the communication鈥檚 committee, she鈥檚 helping to brainstorm how the society can move forward with its services and other outreach missions.
Its Sunday 鈥減latform,鈥� the term they use for their non-theistic but spiritually centered services, has been canceled for the foreseeable future, and committee meetings have moved online or to conference calls.聽
鈥淲e鈥檝e spent the last three days doing nothing but saying, how do we calm people鈥檚 fears?鈥� says Liz Singer, president of the Society for Ethical Culture鈥檚 board of trustees. 鈥淗ow do we let them know we鈥檙e here? How do we let them know that if they feel the need to come in, how can they be able to reach out and to talk to us?鈥�
The society also maintains a women鈥檚 homeless shelter in the basement of their building, a partnership with The Olivieri Center in New York. It also houses a televisiting program that connects families with loved ones being held in New York鈥檚 notorious Rikers Island jail complex, which houses those awaiting trial and who cannot afford bond.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lot of people concerned with these outreach programs, asking, 鈥楢re people getting food? Are we going to be able to continue?鈥� 鈥� Ms. Singer says.
鈥淭his is becoming real now鈥�
It was a painful moment last Friday when Fatime Ba, a volunteer in the 鈥渇riendly visiting鈥� program at CityMeals on Wheels, was told she had to forgo her weekly visit with the 96-year-old woman with whom she鈥檚 become close, and usually spends at least two hours visiting every Friday.聽
鈥淚t took me a minute to realize, wait a minute, this is becoming real now,鈥� Ms. Ba says. 鈥淲hen I call her, you could hear that disappointment in her voice. And she kinda ended up worried, she鈥檚 worried, because I don鈥檛 know what we鈥檙e going to do. But again, it has to be done, because we need to protect ourselves from whatever is happening right now.鈥�
The mission of CityMeals on Wheels, which delivers tens of thousands of meals to 18,000 of New York鈥檚 elderly shut ins, has also had to adjust to fewer volunteers and stricter protocols for its services, says executive director Beth Shapiro.聽
鈥淢any of our meal recipients are already socially distanced,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e isolated, they鈥檙e left alone, so even a quick meal coming to the door is connectivity for them.鈥澛�
The 鈥渇riendly visits鈥� program, however, is now being done via the telephone. And in addition to the hot meals the agency delivers, the service is now including nonperishable and shelf stable food. Volunteers who deliver these meals follow CDC protocols, sanitizing their hands and maintaining a six foot distance from their clients during deliveries, she says.
Despite seeing fewer volunteers, Ms. Shapiro is witnessing a renewed commitment from those they still rely upon. 鈥淭he flip side of this crisis is that New York is this huge city with very often disconnected people, but during times of emergency, it brings us together. And I would say, quite frankly, the city feels like a small town in times like these.鈥澛�
Despite her disappointment at not being able to visit her friend, Ms. Ba is remaining committed to do what she can.
聽鈥淚 started as a volunteer because, when I came in America 20 something years ago, I was received with open arms,鈥� says Ms. Ba, an immigrant from Senegal who now works as a social worker.聽
鈥淪o to me, it鈥檚 like giving back to the community,鈥� she continues. 鈥淚 have found a way to say thank you, thank you for everything that you鈥檝e done for me, for everything that I have now. I have to go back into the community and show my appreciation.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, we鈥檝e removed the paywall聽for all our coronavirus coverage. It鈥檚 free.
