In the past five years, Walking Together has grown and changed, and we have reached a major inflection point due to COVID-19. This newsletter is our first attempt at letting you know about our needs, our plans and our vision for the future in this new environment.

As most of you know, Walking Together was started in January of 2015. We had no formal space, and relationships were built by walking around the Main South neighborhood and talking to people in parks, in coffee shops and on street corners. We got to know some of the needs and concerns of our neighbors, and extended our reach by starting Laundry Love in July of 2015, with the help of Suds Up Laundromat.

In April of 2016, we were blessed to lease our storefront at 799 Main Street, and since then we have been committed to a ministry of presence at that corner of our city. We have tried many experiments, but daily hospitality and 12 step groups have been central from the start. Laundry Love has, of course, continued for the past 5 years, and we hope to be able to gather in July to celebrate five years of sharing love together.

Since the restrictions on gatherings were instituted in Massachusetts in early March, we have not been able to be in our storefront. The space does not lend itself to social distancing, and many of our volunteers are vulnerable to the virus because of age or pre-existing conditions. At first, we thought we would be gone for just two or three weeks, but by the end of March it was clear that we needed to rethink our model of ministry.

The folks we serve are incredibly vulnerable right now. The virus has infected something like 45% of the unhoused community in Worcester. Shelters can be virus breeding grounds, hand washing is nearly impossible without access to sinks and soap, and the few stores which are open do not allow people to enter without masks. Many people choose not to go to the shelters, and those who do are often in unfamiliar neighborhoods since the shelter population has been dispersed across the city. Many of our folks do not have phones, and almost no one has access to WiFi. Gathering by Zoom or Facebook Live is not an option.

As a result, we have been returning to our roots, being out on the street rather than being in the storefront. We are out several days a week, driving the neighborhoods to look for our folks. When we make contact, we talk through the car window, offering what support and encouragement we can. Thanks to gifts from local individuals and churches, we have masks to share. We also have care packages with hygiene supplies, toiletries, and simple snacks as well. 

Most of what we offer, though, is connection. Many of our people were already isolated by addiction, mental illness and poverty. Walking Together was a safe haven—a place to talk, to sit quietly, or get essential needs met. Now they are even more isolated. Those living in single room occupancy housing are confined to one room. Those who are in shelters have been dispersed across the city since the Public Health Department appropriately decided that shelters needed to be both larger spaces and house smaller populations. Others, who have not sought shelter find themselves without their usual gathering places as public spaces are closed and fast food places are take-out only.

Laundry Love cannot operate right now. Putting 70 plus households into even the largest laundromat over the course of an evening would stretch the most generous definition of social distancing. We hope that we can figure out ways to create smaller, more manageable gatherings as the regulations are relaxed, but we know that it may be months before we can return to our once a month practice.  

When we meet our folks in Main South, our faces light up with joy, and so do theirs. We are family and we miss each other. We worry about each other and do our best to stay connected, but it is hard in this time of COVID-19.

Over the next few weeks, we expect to continue our “drive-by” ministry. As restrictions ease and the weather improves, we hope to have some kind of walk-up coffee and snacks at the storefront. We are thinking about putting a table across our entryway and passing lunches or hygiene supplies to our neighbors. We know that we will need to adapt as future waves of the virus ebb and flow.

We are grateful for your prayerful support of this ministry. We know that the love and prayers of all of you go out with us into the neighborhood each day.

Meredyth

Meredyth Wessman Ward

Director, Walking Together

Walking Together is a Human to Human program.

Walking Together is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions to Walking Together are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.