Some days at the Hospitality Center have highs and others have lows, but there are some days that our staff will never forget. Here are some of our top three days at the Norristown Hospitality Center:
1. One of our clients named Kim got placed in a nearby shelter, but the shelter didn’t allow her to keep her insulin in their refrigerator. I kept it in the fridge here at the Center, but she didn’t have access to it over the weekend. When she came back on Monday, she wasn’t feeling well and her blood sugar was too high, so she ended up in the hospital. After she was discharged from the hospital, the shelter wouldn’t let her back in because it was after check-in hours. I called another agency, and they made one phone call to get her into another shelter where she could keep her insulin and other personal items with her. It was a good day because it usually takes a while to get people into housing, but that day it just took one phone call.
-Amalthea, Certified Peer Specialist
2. One of our clients, Brian, was living across the street under a tarp throughout the winter. He would come to the Hospitality Center for breakfast and showers with only a pullover for warmth. When a local church donated coats, he tried on an XL coat but it was too small. A few days later, when I looked through the coats a bit more closely, I found it- an XXL men’s coat. I ran to the window and yelled to him from across the street, saying I had something for him. He tried the coat on and it fit perfectly. After that, he was always wearing his coat. Brian is now housed and off the streets, but he still has his winter coat. I will never forget my excitement when I realized that this church gave us exactly what Brian needed.
-Katie, Development Coordinator
A few years ago, we had a client named Tony that would disappear for periods of time before coming back to the Hospitality Center. He had health issues and ended up in jail multiple times, so we never knew what happened to him when he was gone. One day, I saw Tony come in after months of being gone and I pointed him out to a case manager. The case manager excitedly called out, “Tony!” when she saw he was back. It was wonderful to see a reunion and know the case managers care about our clients so much.
-Laurie, Office Manager
Thank you for your continued support, which makes days like these possible for our staff. If you would like to join us in creating these life-changing moments for our clients and staff, email [email protected] for volunteer opportunities or make a donation here.
