Maintaining Safety and Sanctuary

We take pride in keeping Rosie’s Place safe, clean and accessible for all of our community members. We know that showing women that they are welcome and they are loved means paying attention to the details. It means making sure our building is more than a facility, it’s a sanctuary. A place to feel seen, supported and secure. And now, in the midst of a pandemic—this work has never been more essential.

Since March, our Operations team’s cleaning procedures have increased dramatically. Surfaces and spaces are cleaned regularly, with special attention paid hourly to high-traffic and high-touch areas. Plexiglass partitions that have been installed in guest service areas must be disinfected throughout the day. And showers, critical for women sleeping on the streets, are sanitized in between each use. For seven months, our Operations staff have been at the very front of our frontlines, working tirelessly to keep our community healthy as the need for our services continues to grow.

In response to the dire hunger crisis resulting from the pandemic, our Food Pantry’s capacity doubled. We now serve 5,000 households each month. This means that in addition to their expanded cleaning duties, our Operations staff are picking up and unloading nearly half a ton of food each week!

Caleb Hardwick, an Operations Assistant at Rosie’s Place since 2018, has been an important part of this team effort. Despite being in almost perpetual motion, Caleb is somehow always there when a hand is needed.

He told me what inspires him to keep working so hard: 

I like Rosie’s Place’s belief that our giving is not charity but justice. To me, it means that when we help women with food or shelter, we’re giving them what they should have—what they deserve. I believe strongly in the importance of caring for marginalized people. Working at Rosie’s Place helps me to fulfill that purpose in my life.

It’s friends like you all, who support us so generously, that keep us going. Because you believe as we do, that we are not giving charity. We are providing sanctuary.

With appreciation,

Leemarie Mosca
President/CEO