Damiano staff series

I've worked for the Damiano Center for the past five years in a variety of roles. I write this blog occasionally, as well as various other communications pieces and grant proposals for Damiano. We work really hard to tell you stories of our guests here on this blog and elsewhere. These stories help our community identify with people who they don't know and may not understand - they help break down stereotypes and build empathy.

During this pandemic, we have seen a new understanding of the criticality of grocery store workers, "big box" store workers, postal service workers, truck drivers, and many others that our society often doesn't think about. Nonprofit workers on the front lines during COVID-19 are people who our society often doesn't think about as well. Nonprofit staff are feeding, sheltering, and caring for the most vulnerable in our country.

Over the coming weeks, we are going to offer a series of articles based on interviews with Damiano staff who are working on-site to ensure that our community is fed. Who are they? Why do they show up every day? Why does this work matter to them and to our community? If you missed the video we shared earlier in the week, you can see it below. These are all the dedicated staff who we will tell you more about.

Like all of us, these are people who are sometimes fearful of this pandemic and what the future holds. They also know the difficulties that Damiano guests face: the desperation that comes from not eating for days, the pain of being treated as less than human by many people and institutions, and the exhaustion that comes from not having a safe place to lay their head.

They know that their work means survival for some of our guests, and that it may even mean hope for a better future. The Damiano staff continue their work in the face of COVID-19 because they care. I'm honored to work with them every day and to share a little bit of who they are, and you'll have the opportunity to learn more about them here in the coming weeks.