This is an unprecedented time for all of us and throughout this crisis, our priority remains the health and safety of our staff and wellbeing of our clients.
Neighborhood House is still open and still serving our community. We continue to offer critical services over the phone, via email, and utilizing social distancing.
Neighborhood House’s dedicated staff have been:
• Calling elderly clients to make sure they are staying safe and have access to medication and food;
• Assisting people seeking employment (and applying for unemployment); and
• Providing emergency rent checks and housing support over the phone, via email, and occasionally in-person.
If you know someone in need or are facing hardships yourself, please go to our website for resources we offer as well as information about community resources.
Last week, we made the difficult decision to temporarily close our preschools and home visiting programs as part of the collective community effort to curb COVID-19. During our closure, staff continue to contact families to see how they’re coping with the crisis and offer support. We are encouraging families to continue home learning activities, and providing updates on how to stay safe during this pandemic.
COVID-19 will hit the 15,000 people we serve each year harder than most. Neighborhood House staff speak forty-eight languages and are ready to assist everyone, especially our English language learners. We are already seeing an increase in demand for our services, and need your support now more than ever before.
On April 8, we had planned to convene 500 supporters for our annual What Matters Most Breakfast. Since we are no longer able to hold the breakfast, we will be sharing how we’re responding to the needs in our community in the coming weeks. On Wednesday, April 8th, we’ll have a digital event featuring State Senator Joe Nguyen, as well as our new video that shares the stories of two families we helped with housing, employment, and other services. (Our digitial event will run through Friday, April 10th to make it more accessible for everyone.)
We are grateful to our sponsors for remaining committed to this event and our important work. I hope you will help us respond to the growing crisis in our community by participating. Please register for our digital event here or just simply make a donation. We appreciate any help you can provide.
Stay safe and thank you so much for your support.
With gratitude,
Janice Deguchi (she/her/hers)
Executive Director