We are so grateful for the on-going support of the Rider-Pool Foundation, which has allowed us to dream big, plan carefully, and work collaboratively. Click here to read more about the Rider-Pool Foundation’s support of RCI and other great organizations in Allentown (and to see a great photo of two of our stellar volunteers hard at work!).
Thank you for making the holidays merry and bright!
Huge shout out to all the people who helped us over the holidays to make our community members feel special and loved. We appreciate the big and small ways you gave your time and gifts! Here are just a few of the people and businesses that made our holidays merry and bright:
Pat Beldon and friends for a holiday dinner
Johnny’s Bagels for catering breakfast on Christmas day
Assembly 88/ Santo Napoli for collecting and donating winter coats
Trinity Wesleyan Church for making gift baskets for all our residents
Zumba Ladies for pizza on Christmas Eve
Vonda Klein & Phil McCutchen for providing a hot Christmas breakfast
Lori Bartholomew for baking holiday cookies to enjoy
Scott and Gillian Pidcock for gifts of winter boots
Ripple Church for meals and Christmas Eve Service
Ericka from Lehigh County for donating hygiene kits and supplies
Compassion Fatigue and COVID-19
Written by Danilo Sanchez | RCI Village Housing Director
As we enter 2021 with the COVID-19 pandemic still going on, many health care workers and social service workers have met their limit. There is added stress for many of us serving the unsheltered community while there continues to be limited available resources. Many organizations have staff working from home and most of the interaction is virtual. For organizations that are open in person, they are quickly overwhelmed with people who are desperate, carrying the burden of their mental health, and starved for social interaction. At Ripple Community Inc, we have experienced this firsthand. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve had influx of people coming to our center on a regular basis. Many of those people need food and water, a daytime space to rest, and emotional and mental care. It can be overwhelming to say the least.
I recall one particularly hard week at the Community Building Center. It started with a fight on Tuesday, after which we had to ask one of our community members to take a week-long break from coming to the center. Followed by Thursday when two community members used drugs on the property and the microwave quit working, which was less than thrilling news to the 20 hungry people who hadn’t eaten since the previous night.
By Friday, I was spent. That’s when Rob came in needing to talk. He had needed to talk several other days that week, too, but our conversations would end early because of all that was going on. It’s hard to have an extended conversation with people when you’re being pulled in all directions. He seemed particularly frantic that Friday morning. He cornered me and asked to speak in the office. I paused for a moment trying to think of an excuse, but nothing was coming to mind. I had avoided him enough times that week. We sat down in the office and Rob unloaded all his troubles from that week—his housing situation, his stolen bike, the memories from his younger years that still haunt him. After listening to Rob talk for 30 minutes non-stop, I had about all I could take. Another staff member walked into the office and I used that as opportunity to end the conversation. I exited the office, glad to get a break, but was immediately greeted by someone who had just come off the street and wanted to talk to the Housing Director because a friend stole their rent money and now they did not know what to do. I was moving from one crisis to another.
After ten intense months of absorbing and providing for all the needs of others it’s easy to develop compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is the state of being emotionally and physically exhausted from carrying the trauma of others, leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for them. This condition is also referred to as secondary or vicarious trauma. After several years of working at RCI, I have come to learn that you can only handle so many painful stories until you start to become desensitized, and less able to help in a meaningful way.
The result of compassion fatigue is that we are often dismissive to the needs of others, make ourselves unavailable, or become rigid. I kept dismissing Rob that week because I didn’t have the emotional capacity to listen to his story. We all have finite wells, and mine was bone dry. I knew that he, like most of our friends at RCI, had been in similar situations before, and would be again months from now. But that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t deserve care, and compassion, and friendship today.
If I do not pay attention to my emotional and mental wellbeing, compassion fatigue will win out. That not only hurts me, but also hurts others that I want to care about.
All our staff have experienced compassion fatigue this past year in some way. But we must find a way to replenish our souls. Staff is encouraged to do self-care which might look like physical activity, art, boundaries training, gardening, cuddling with your pet, meditating, group activities, or therapy. This helps to balance out the difficult stories that we hear. People like Rob will continue to show up at the Center. As staff we need to find the strength to be emotionally available so that we can give them the compassion they deserve. As Father Boyle would say, “Kindness is the only strength there is.” RCI is in this work for the long haul, so we find the strength and rhythms that will sustain us for the journey.
Growing and thriving in our new normal: Welcome Blake and Missy!
In a year defined by change and uncertainty, we are more grateful than ever for the many kinds of support that we have received from so many of you. We are also incredibly grateful for our amazing staff, who have consistently gone above and beyond to care for our friends here at RCI. We are pleased to announce two recent staffing changes that will ensure that we can continue to keep our RCI community members safe and healthy while still moving toward our organizational goals. Please join us in welcoming Blake Henry as our new Community Chaplain, and in congratulating Missy Wise on moving into a new role as our Community Services Coordinator!
Welcome Blake! Blake Henry is the new interfaith Community Chaplain for the Community Building Center. As Community Chaplain, Blake is responsible for providing care and support to members of the RCI community, including one-on-one and small group care for RCI community members interested in addressing their spiritual or emotional needs on a deeper level. Along with that, he will help support our RCI Village residents. Blake brings the gifts of pastoral care, positivity, and connectivity. He is most excited about deepening the relationships at the Community Building Center and connecting others to the work that is happening at RCI. Blake has been a great addition to the team!
Congratulations Missy! Missy Wise has moved into a new role as our Community Services Coordinator. As the Community Services Coordinator, Missy coordinates our Service Hub, which is a dedicated space at the Community Building Center where our partner organizations (including the Street Medicine, St. Luke’s Parish Nurses, Lehigh County Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol programs, VAST, Muhlenberg College Office of Community Engagement, and others) provide specialized services to our community members. With her skills in Restorative Practices, Missy continues to facilitate our weekly circles and engage our community members in the processes of healing from trauma and building empathy with one another. Missy has been a valuable part of our team for the past four years, and we are thrilled to have her stepping into this new and critical role!