My name is Cindy Singh.
I am the program director for Henry Street
Settlement Healthy Senior Select Meals on Wheels Program.
The gist of our program is to provide home delivered meals to homebound seniors that
are unable to go out and shop or prepare meals for themselves.
I look at it as a way to kind of let the seniors know that we do care.
There are people that do really care and
want to hear about their stories and hear about their experiences.
I lost my mom at a very young age.
I was 17 when she got sick and I was a caregiver for her and it was to the point
where I couldn't care for her anymore at home.
And then she transitioned into a nursing home.
And then I would go there every day and I
kind of saw the loneliness and desperation in the other seniors that were there.
And I think that's why I started in this field.
The seniors I learned really early on to not get attached, to appreciate the
time that we have with them now because it does hit you when they do pass.
They were seeing our delivery staff every single day.
So naturally there was a bond that was developed and when the delivery staff lost
a client, then it was really hard for them as well.
So we started like bereavement groups and
we would do things where they can talk to each other and share stories because in
this program, you do deal with more loss than the average person.
We have had our normal rate of loss.
We've had over 200 seniors recover from COVID.
I know for our existing clients, prior to
the pandemic, they've had a sense of security.
So we were serving about 1400 seniors a day.
And when all of this happened,
they knew that we were going to continue providing them with the meals.
We have a very good group of delivery staff.
They're very dedicated.
They have a very difficult job.
This job is super labor intensive.
We were all scared.
None of us really wanted to be out here and traveling, much less delivering.
Our delivery staff are touching buttons and doorknobs, more so than anyone else.
We brought on 900 new clients.
It was hectic because it was delivery addresses that we'd never been to.
Another layer was added to us when there
were homebound seniors that were diagnosed with COVID,
realizing that as a food delivery program and if it's a senior, that regardless of
what their circumstances are, that we still need to provide that meal.
And we figured out a way of delivering to them and providing them with the number of
meals that they need with the least amount of contact.
In retrospect, a lot of the delivery staff really stepped up and they really are
proud of themselves for getting through that first two months.
They still come out and deliver because they do have a heart.
They care about the seniors that we serve.
We never gave up.
We never stopped.
I can honestly say that throughout my time here we've never not served a meal.