FALL 2020 | In This Issue Strengthening Our Connection to Our Guests Q & A with Our Operations Director Our President on Housing as Health Care Introducing a New Holiday Card
NEWS
Coming Together for Funny Women… Serious Business October 20
Strengthening Our Connection to Our Guests The onset of the coronavirus changed so much of what we do at Rosie’s Place. In order to continue our essential work with women desperately seeking our help, we drew on our stores of determination, innovation and flexibility. We have kept our doors open to homeless women by adapting the way we deliver services, offering a safe and peaceful place for medical screenings, meals, showers, and both daytime and overnight shelter.
Q&A
DAN DOS SANTOS OPERATIONS MANAGER
Dan dos Santos (on far left in photo) joined Rosie’s Place in 2015. He brings 12 years of experience in facilities management, primarily in Greater Boston nonprofits, to his position as Operations Manager. With the outbreak of the coronavirus in March, Dan has shifted the focus of the Operations department to the critically important role of maintaining a safe and COVID-19-free workplace. What are the responsibilities of your position at Rosie’s Place? I supervise pretty much everything to do with the physical plant, with the operation of our four Boston sites at 889 Harrison Avenue, the Women’s Education Center at 887 Harrison Avenue, 47 Thorndike Street and Norfolk House at 10 John Elliot Square. My key responsibilities include managing projects such as building renovations and system upgrades, working with contractors to make sure everything runs smoothly. Operations also handles the maintenance and cleaning of our buildings and outdoor spaces, receiving deliveries and making pick-ups of items to supply our food pantry at the Greater Boston Food Bank and other locations. In what ways has the work of your department changed with the pandemic? Our number one responsibility now is to protect the safety and health of our guests and staff at our main location. Right at the start, our COVID Response Team developed a set of policies and procedures to keep guests safe, and we have adapted our practices to follow these guidelines. We are disinfecting and cleaning the facility all day long, with special attention given to high traffic areas such as our lobby and Dining Room. We also clean the showers continuously. We hired an outside firm that comes in weekly to perform deep disinfecting with a fogger which, in addition to what we do, provides an additional level of sanitation. What was put in place early on has turned out to be very effective in preventing COVID-19 infection, and we will continue to follow all of these protocols until the pandemic’s end. How has your staff adapted to these new responsibilities? My team of five Operations Assistants have been great! They’ve been flexible with the shift in their jobs and are eager to do whatever is asked of them, such as learning all of our enhanced cleaning and disinfecting measures. Now that our food pantry has moved outside, they also set up and break down the tents required for their operation each day and still perform all maintenance activities and cleaning of workspaces in other buildings. The team know they are on the front lines and are committed to keeping Rosie’s Place safe. Vigilance is key and they have definitely risen to the challenge. What motivates you in your work at Rosie’s Place? I’m happy to be at a place that I know is doing good in the world. Although our department doesn’t provide direct service to our guests, we can help indirectly by supporting the work of others. A lot of what we do is unseen, but it matters, especially now.
And, in the same way, a great measure of creativity and resourcefulness has enabled us to remain a lifeline for thousands of our guests who have housing and are doing all they can to keep it. “This pandemic has caused us to take different approaches to the ways we can support our guests in the community,” says Rosie’s Place President and CEO Leemarie Mosca. “But our goal has stayed the same: to do all that we can in this time of significant health concern, financial strain and uncertainty to help maintain the housing stability of women who are at risk of losing it.” Our Housing Stabilization workers, who reach out to guests through monthly home visits, have now increased their connection as they transition to two or more virtual visits via phone check-ins each month. The team continues to work closely with guests to assess their needs and address problems that could lead to eviction. In addition to phone contact, we also drop off emergency bags of groceries, medications and cleaning supplies to those who are housebound or elderly, contact cellphone companies to restore service that had been discontinued, and help to complete and send along paperwork related to housing, employment, health care and other important necessities. Lately, our workers are ensuring that our guests understand the guidelines of an eviction moratorium and also are helping with back rent. “Navigating and nurturing relationships with management companies
is also a key part of our housing stabilization work,” explains Erin Miller, Chief Strategy Officer. “Hopefully, they’ll look to us to work through an issue when it arises, before thinking about taking court action.” Our workers often meet with guests and management company representatives at their offices, employing mediation to avert a court appearance and reach an agreement that makes sense to everyone involved. While our walk-in legal assistance clinics are on hold for now, our Legal Program has established a dedicated phone line to provide more than twice as many consults than those that were taking place prepandemic. When calls come in, our staff will determine the legal area of need, and either provide advice and help at that time or refer their inquiries to our legal partners– Greater Boston Legal Services for housing and family law matters and Rian Immigration Center for immigration-based issues–for assistance. With many courts opening remotely and relying on video for hearings, and with key government agencies accepting online applications only, our guests are frequently unable to overcome these obstacles to participation. “We are working to get as much legal assistance and information to women as possible,” says Legal Program Director Jennifer Howard, “but it has become increasingly harder to work through access issues because our guests often don’t have smartphones or computers. We are continuing to devise ways to help guests navigate these new challenges.” During this period of great need, it is critically important that we make our services available to the women at home who frequently used Rosie’s Place services and, particularly, those who had received in-person support from our Advocacy department. To provide Advocacy services virtually, we broadened the reach of our School Collaborative helpline, which was originally designed to connect us by phone with moms who were not able meet with
Sarah’s Story
Sarah has been intermittently homeless since 2012, finding shelter at Rosie’s Place several times, including on March 3. As she entered our Overnight Shelter that day, she could not have predicted that little more than a week later, she would be able to remain with us well beyond our standard 21-day stay. We quickly moved to extend the stays of all the women who were in our Overnight program at that time in order to protect them from the coronavirus outbreak. “When the staff announced that we would be staying at Rosie’s Place until further notice, I immediately thought, ‘I’m surely blessed,’” Sarah remembers. “I live with diabetes and was worried about my health, so this was the best news I could have gotten.” All the safety precautions that are followed throughout the other areas at our 889 Harrison Avenue location are in place in the Overnight Shelter as well. Masks are worn by all staff and guests and social distancing is conscientiously observed. Meals are brought in from our Dining Room and the living space is constantly cleaned and disinfected. Guests remain inside for the better part of the day, unless they need to leave for employment, and afternoons are reserved for outdoor time in our garden area. Through
an Advocate at their child’s school. We now staff an Advocacy Helpline, which provides the opportunity for any guest who is in need of assistance to speak to an Advocate in real time. By widely publicizing the phone number on our website and among our guests, our team of 15 Advocates has been able to help many more women at home with services including back rent and utility payments; access to food, transportation and resources; and referrals to any supports they need. “This innovative approach is not common in organizations such as ours, and the way we do advocacy is unique as well,” Erin says. “Learning what resources are available and how to access them has become more complicated. Our Advocates have the knowledge, latitude and flexibility to handle problems and will walk side-by-side with our guests to figure things out together.” Over the past several months, we have gone even further to maintain a vital link to our guests by reaching out to more than 6,000 guests who’ve used our Advocacy services in the past year. This direct outreach to inquire about guests’ welfare, and to send financial support in the form of grocery and pharmacy gift cards, has resulted in even more women benefiting from Rosie’s Place’s care and concern. According to Leemarie, keeping a strong connection to guests is perhaps the most important service our staff can offer right now. “Many of the women we speak with are struggling with the same issues we all are—worried about the future, and feeling the strain of isolation,” she says. “But these women also carry some additional burdens— rising debts and increased food insecurity have intensified anxiety and, in some cases, depression. Just being able to have a conversation with us and knowing that we are here for them with unconditional love and tangible support has been invaluable in bringing hope to the women we continue to care for in our Rosie’s Place community.”
these practices, we have been able to safeguard the health of each woman who has been with us since early March. According to Sarah, “Rosie’s Place has done a tremendous job of taking care of us through these past months.” She adds, “I admire the staff, who put out positive energy and pleasantness on a regular basis –and that’s a lot. I appreciate all they do.” Prior to this health crisis, Sarah had actively engaged in many of the programs and services offered at Rosie’s Place. She had been working with our employment specialist to find a job, had participated in our weeklong Public Policy training and began taking Spanish classes, which she now continues online. When an outstanding legal matter was preventing Sarah from moving forward as she neared the top of a housing list, our Legal Program provided her with representation for a court hearing that, frustratingly, continues to be rescheduled. But even with the delays in progress toward a new home and her uncertainty about what comes next, Sarah declares that her attitude is “super” on most days. “It’s all about gratitude,” she says. “It’s what keeps me going.”
Our President on Housing as Health Care Dear Friends: At Rosie’s Place, we believe that housing is a human right. And now more than ever, in a pandemicstricken, uncertain world—housing is, indisputably—health care. For poor women who have housing, we recognize the fragility of their stability. So many of our guests are one sick day away from unemployment or one missed paycheck away from eviction. The loss of housing is all too often the first domino to fall in a perilous line that can quickly lead to unemployment, homelessness and illness. Long before COVID-19 created an economic crisis that in turn has spurred the threat of widespread evictions— Rosie’s Place has been a safety net for women struggling to keep their housing. And today, our critical work to keep women healthy and in their homes continues.
Kip Tiernan Memorial during fabrication
As you may have read in our story on page 1, our Advocacy Helpline is assisting women with an array of needs. Housing issues are among the most prominent. The helpline receives as many as 100 calls daily from women who have lost their jobs and are unable to pay their rent and utilities until their unemployment benefits arrive; women late with rent whose landlords are threatening eviction; and women behind on mortgage payments fearful of losing homes they worked so hard to attain. We’ve increased our funding to meet this rapidly expanding need for financial assistance, and also work with our guests to create budgets and payment plans with management and utility companies. And our Legal Program is another vital resource for women with a host of housing challenges made even more complex by the pandemic. Often facing language and technology barriers, and experiencing harassment from landlords and debtors—our guests feel alone and overwhelmed. We ensure that they understand their rights and with our legal partner, assist our guests with online applications and Zoom court dates and advocate on their behalf with the courts, landlords and debtors. Although the City of Boston and the Commonwealth have extended eviction moratoriums, there are still thousands of poor women at risk of losing their homes as unemployment benefits run out and rents become due. We know too well the devastating effects of such a loss on our guests’ lives. So we do absolutely everything we can to prevent them from having to endure the upheaval of homelessness. While there may be an avalanche of displacement and evictions in the future, we remain resolute in our commitment to safeguarding the fundamental right of housing for our guests. Thanks to friends like you, Rosie’s Place can make sure they never lose hope. Because thanks to friends like you, they’ll always have our help. In solidarity,
Leemarie Mosca
thank you for standing with us as we remain a constant for our guests. ROSIE’S PLACE NEWS is published three times a year to inform our friends about activities and events taking place throughout the Rosie’s Place community. OUR MISSION is to provide a safe and nurturing environment to help poor and homeless women to maintain their dignity, seek opportunity, and find security in their lives. President/CEO Leemarie Mosca Director of Communications | Editor Michele Chausse Communications Coordinator | Contributor Mikayla Mercado Design Colette O’Neill We’d love to hear from you! Please contact us with your comments at mchausse@rosiesplace.org or 617.318.0210.
QUOTABLE “Volunteering in the Dining Room over the past four years has been incredibly meaningful to me. And I’ve loved being able to recruit different groups of people to join me. It’s immensely rewarding to see what they have gotten out of it, and to know that they then volunteer on their own. It’s an amazing ripple effect…I truly value the work done at Rosie’s Place. When I first started my art business, the driving force was to be able to do more for organizations like yours. While I can’t be on site right now, I can still be of help.” Reflections from Fehmida Chipty, M.D., on the impetus for donating a portion of the proceeds from the sales of her nature-based and architectural photographs on the website, Zamana Art.
“We want to thank you, and we are tremendously grateful to you serving on the front lines of COVID-19 in essential services. You are our heroes – advocates for those in need – amidst an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty. We want to thank you for your courageousness and resolution to care for your patients (sic); we are appreciative of all you’re doing. Please accept this donation of 117 cloth masks as a small contribution to your efforts.” A note accompanying a mask donation from the social and cultural organization HSS USA, one of the many packages of greatly appreciated masks, disinfecting supplies and words of encouragement we have received over recent months.
“Kip’s mission is engraved in everything we do and why we do it at RP… Her greatest gift was being able to relate to everyone she met, and honestly make them feel important…Joy can be found even in the darkest of circumstances with unconditional love and that message is what I appreciate most about Kip… Kip’s spirit is alive and well at Rosie’s Place. I see it in the smiles on the guests faces and the camaraderie among staff… Feliz Cumpleanos KIP!! What inspires me here every day is through all the good and bad times, we still support each other no matter what!... Shortly after I started at Rosie’s Place, I bought a copy of [her book] Urban Meditations at a used bookstore and found it signed ‘In struggle and love! -Kip & Fran’; a seemingly perfect summation of her life-long commitment to our work.” A cross-section of reflections from staff, who were invited to observe founder Kip Tiernan’s birthday on June 17 by sharing some celebratory words about Kip or Rosie’s Place.
Communityof
Friends
Did K ? You
now
This year, Rosie’s Place staff were given the day off on June 19 to reflect and to commemorate Juneteenth, the day when Texas became the final state to be emancipated from slavery in 1865. Juneteenth 2020, which in July was made an official holiday in Massachusetts, was marked by celebrations alongside protests and marches calling for racial justice and equal rights.
Like so many events planned for dates falling after the coronavirus outbreak, Rosie’s Place’s annual Safe & Sound gala, scheduled for May 6 at The Cyclorama at Boston Center for the Arts, had to be quickly reimagined. Because of the generosity of our longtime friend Susan Wornick, who stepped in to host our virtual gala, and our community of friends and supporters who continued to stand by us, we were able together to raise $480,000 for essential services for the women who turn to us for help. We are grateful to our event chairs: Bank of America, Brightsphere, Christina Gordon and Michael Gordon, Marriott Daughters Foundation, Michele May and David Walt, and Deb and Mark Pasculano. Thanks also to our restaurant partners–Flour Bakery, Hojoko Japanese Tavern, MAX Catering, Myers+Chang, Prezza The Farmer’s Daughter and The Smoke Shop–who contributed recipes to a Safe & Sound recipe book for event participants.
For a decade, Rosie’s Place has advocated for a common application for individuals applying for public benefits. This issue is especially important right now because the COVID-19 pandemic has limited health care and food access for many of the poor and homeless women we serve. Recently, the Massachusetts Legislature passed, and Governor Baker signed, a technology funding bill that included $5 million to create a way for people to apply for SNAP and MassHealth at the same time, rather than filling out two separate applications with the identical information! This crucial step towards a common application will help ensure that the more than 700,000 people who are covered under MassHealth but do not receive SNAP will be able to easily apply for both.
The community activism nonprofit REVERB recruited volunteers Michelle and Alex (above) to deliver produce donations from Hutchins Farm to us for our food pantry as part of their Summer 2020 Farm to Family program. We are grateful to them and our other partners—farms Gaining Ground and Brookwood Community Farm, as well as Amazon, the Food Project and Lovin’ Spoonfuls—for their contributions as we work to stem the growing food insecurity of our guests.
ay d o T s g n i t e e ow Send Your Gr hter Tomorr
For a Brig
Send holiday greetings to your family, friends and clients, and give the gift of hope to poor and homeless women. The holiday cards you purchase from Rosie’s Place for business or personal use will help fund new beginnings for 12,000 women a year. We are pleased to offer another new image from acclaimed local artist Sam Vokey. Framed by the pink hues of dusk in winter, Holiday Skate conjures memories of a time gone by, when residents would Holiday Skate enjoy ice skating on the Boston Public Garden’s frozen lagoon. Visit our website to view all nine classic Boston scenes and whimsical winter illustrations, available in 10-packs ($20) and variety 15-packs ($26). Custom printing is available as well. You can remember Rosie’s Place at holiday time in two ways: Purchase packs of cards • Nine winter scenes to choose from • 10-packs of 1 design: $20 • 15-packs with 3 designs: $26 • Comes with envelopes and classic greeting inside: “Warm wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.”
Personalize your greeting with custom-printed cards • Available on orders of 50+ cards • Print a unique message in color or black and white • Add logo, photo or signatures for a special touch • Envelopes are included and can be customized • Our online ordering system makes ordering quick and easy
Order your special holiday greetings while supporting the work of Rosie’s Place today! • Online: www.rosiesplace.org/holidaycards • Phone: Mikayla Mercado at 617.318.0238 • Email: mmercado@rosiesplace.org • Mail: send a check to Rosie’s Place, Attn: Holiday Cards, 889 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02118
As part of our celebration of what would have been Kip Tiernan’s 94th birthday on June 17, our staff, guests, board members, volunteers, and friends joined together (virtually) to submit photos that together created a unique image of our founder. An interactive version of the mosaic is available at www.rosiesplace.org/kipmosaic.
The July 19, 2020 edition of The Boston Globe Magazine featured a cover story by journalist Beth Healy chronicling a 1984 fire that damaged our Washington Street shelter and the resilience that made Rosie’s Place even stronger. Read this fascinating chapter in our history at www.bit.ly/rpGlobe.
fall
WISH LIST
Because of friends like you, we can continue to serve the women who depend on us for help. COVID-19 has required us to limit much of what we do with our community of supporters, but there still are creative and meaningful ways you can become involved. One of the opportunities below may be right for you. Thank you! Support a guest’s stay in our Overnight Shelter Providing the sanctuary of a safe, clean bed and support services is critical to the health of homeless women at this time. A donation of $50 at www.rosiesplace.org/give will fund a one-night stay for one woman and allow us the time to work closely with her to meet her needs. Create care packages for guests You can help get essential items to Rosie’s Place guests in a safe and efficient way. Follow the guidelines at www.rosiesplace.org/carepackages to assemble three different types of kits that can be easily distributed to food pantry visitors and to the homeless women we serve each day. Become a monthly donor By making a sustaining gift through our Friends for All Seasons monthly giving program at www.rosiesplace.org/fas, you will provide steady funding we can count on, in times both good and difficult. Coordinate a digital fundraiser With social gatherings put on hold, a Facebook Fundraiser is an easy way to connect with your community to raise funds on our behalf. Simply go to www.facebook.com/fund/rosiesplace to launch your own fundraiser. And if you’re looking for theme ideas for your own virtual event, please visit www.rosiesplace.org/waystogive. Help us stock our Food Pantry Donate our most needed food items without leaving the safety of your home. Food purchased through YouGiveGoods will be delivered directly to Rosie’s Place and given to women in need. Go to www.yougivegoods.com/drive-rpseptember to help. Donate our most needed items Right now, disposable surgical masks or homemade masks, as well as disinfectant cleaning and sanitizing products, are our most sought-after items. If you are able, please mail or drop them off to us at 889 Harrison Avenue, Boston. Your donation will help us keep Rosie’s Place safe and healthy for our guests.
Brightening the Season It’s never too early to start planning for the holiday season at Rosie’s Place. While so much has changed, our commitment to providing gifts to our guests remains the same. With your help, we can bring holiday cheer and caring to so many women who have struggled every day this year to get by. Most needed items are $25 gift cards at CVS, Walgreens, Target, and Old Navy and bath and body gift sets with lotion, body wash and body spray (from stores such as Bath & Body Works). Your generosity will help brighten the season for our guests and their families. Please contact Shelli Stevens at 617.318.0211 or sstevens@rosiesplace.org for more information and to arrange a drop-off time. We hope to receive all holiday donations by December 4, 2020. Thank you for your support!
We are pleased to announce that our signature fundraising event, Funny Women…Serious Business, will go on this year—on our original date of October 20–with a different approach. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, FWSB will take on a new format as a Broadcast Event with a video program featuring actor and activist Rosie Perez, past luncheon speakers and special friends of Rosie’s Place. As always, we will celebrate the Rosie’s Place mission and gather our community of friends together to help raise funds that are vital to the survival of poor and homeless women in our community, especially now. The video event will stream online on Tuesday, October 20th for our ticketholders, sponsors and partners. The program will be co-hosted by longtime friends and luncheon emcees Susan Wornick and WCVB-TV’s Karen Holmes Ward. We are thrilled to have special appearances by actor and former Saturday Night Live cast member Rachel Dratch as well as past luncheon speakers, author of Orange Is the New Black, Piper Kerman and author of First They Killed My Father, Loung Ung. Latoyia Edwards from NBC Boston, Kim Khazei from 7 News WHDH/WLVI and Vanessa Welch from Boston25 News will be on hand to provide updates on guests whose video stories of courage and new beginnings were shared at previous events. This event is made possible through the support of Presenting Sponsors Bank of America, Brightsphere Investment Group, Globalization Partners, Christina and Michael Gordon, Anne Kubik and Michael Krupka, Kristen and John Maxwell, Michele May and David Walt, Deb and Mark Pasculano and SingleCare; Presenting Centerpiece Sponsor Neiman Marcus; and Leading Sponsors Amundi Pioneer Asset Management, Forest Foundation and Jane and Joe Kringdon (as of printing date). You will be able to shop for gorgeous jewelry and gift items made by our guest artisans in the Women’s Craft Cooperative, holiday cards and note cards at www.rosiesplace.org/shop, win a fabulous gift basket from Neiman Marcus and view the uplifting story of a woman whose life has been changed by Rosie’s Place. “While we are disappointed that we cannot be together in one physical place,” says President/CEO Leemarie Mosca, “we are grateful that our wonderful friends are standing beside us as we weather this crisis. Proceeds from FWSB are critical to our ability to remain a constant for women whose lives become harder and more unsettled by the day. Your generosity allows us to continue to offer day and evening shelter, meals and groceries, advocacy— and more—to the thousands of women who rely on us at this difficult time. Thank you for allowing us to help meet our guests’ vital needs.” You can support Rosie’s Place by becoming a sponsor or by purchasing tickets today. Tickets are $200; to order, visit www.rosiesplace.org/fwsb. For questions or sponsorship information, please contact Shelli Stevens at sstevens@rosiesplace.org or 617.318.0211.
rosiesplace.org 889 Harrison Avenue Boston, MA 02118
NON-PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID BOSTON, MA PERMIT NO. 14526