Looking back in 2020, Deaconess Nurse Ministry is proud of the impact we have made in our community, and we are so thankful for all of your support to allow us to follow our mission and did what we were called to do – Care for Every Life.
The pandemic was hard on all of us, but we were strong and we all lifted each other up. With St. Louis County and St. Louis City’s Grants, through Circle of Friends, we served seniors who are isolated and needed help with managing a healthy lifestyle as well as communication, we formed multiple groups of seniors to discuss health and wellness, to have a group of friends that seniors can talk to and share their stories through zoom meetings has helped them tremendously for their mental health. The seniors are always looking forward to their next meeting.
In partnership with multiple donors, different organizations and food pantries, we are able to help people with low income, and also got reduced hours of work or just had lost their job due to COVID-19 to get enough food to feed their family, to have a safe, warm place to stay during the Holiday, to have a Christmas tree that their little ones dreamed of, to have toys and gifts that they would not otherwise be received on Christmas. The joy we bring to people we helped is priceless and we are privileged to be able to see that joy!
We could tell you so many stories of who we served in 2020, here is just one example of what we do:
A series of unfortunate events and circumstances beyond Mr. and Mrs. S’s control have made them homeless. They were living with their two adult daughters as well as a 5-year-old granddaughter. Mrs. G has had no income since January 2020 and they have been evicted from their apartment and lost their car due to loss of income and inability to make payments. They have no furniture or household items and are unable to afford food or clothing. Her husband had a temporary cook position at a restaurant until COVID. His hours were at first drastically reduced and he was later laid off.
Let us share their story in their own words: “In late November of 2018, we moved into the city from the county. We wanted to be in an urban area where we could walk to stores and parks, as we were prepared to be empty nesters. I was working for a health care company, and my husband had a small remodeling business. Things were going really well. Then in March 2019, we were attacked while leaving a restaurant. My husband suffered a broken cheek/eye socket and two broken ribs. I was left with severe bruises. About a week later, we were going to the store when we were caught in the middle of a gunfight. We were not hit, but everything around us was riddled with bullets. This left me with severe PTSD. I was scared to death to leave my home and ended up in the hospital for 5 days. About 3 weeks after the shooting, my husband begged me to leave the house to have lunch with him, as I had not left the house since the hospital. When we were leaving, I fell forward off the curb and broke both my feet in multiple locations. Because of this, I lost my job. My husband’s small business wasn’t doing well anymore because he took off to take care of me. When my dad needed help with my sick mom. We sold everything we owned, and moved into my parents’ laundry room. My parents were alcoholics. As days went by, tensions grew. We could no longer stay. We had to leave and had no place to go. No money. No vehicle. Nothing. So, we moved back to the apartment with our daughters and granddaughter hoping to be able to make rent, but since then, have been evicted and have nothing. No beds. No furniture.”
From day one since our nurse Reta met them, she has been working tirelessly to get food, and all the assistant we could to help them, and of course, to care for their health too. We were also able to help them with rent and utilities assistant before the winter arrived. They are greatly appreciate the assistant from Deaconess Nurse Ministry through the most difficult time of their life.
Those are some examples of the work that you are supporting, by supporting Deaconess Nurse Ministry, you play a big part of helping many less fortunate lives in our community. We thank YOU for your support!