It’s good to be back.
After a long time apart, volunteers start to return to the shelter.
Aaron Ramos was back in his native New York when he saw Simpson had a job opening.
The position caught his eye for a reason. About a decade previously, he’d worked for Simpson as a shelter advocate for about a year-and-a-half. It was a relatively short part of his young life, but it made an impression.
“I was looking for something different… and I really loved working at Simpson,” he explained.
So, he threw his hat into the ring from over a thousand miles away. In July, he returned to Minnesota to start a new chapter with Simpson as the Volunteer Engagement Manager.
A lot has changed since the last time Aaron was here. In March of 2020, when COVID-19 hit our community, Simpson did a few things right off the bat to protect its shelter guests, participants, staff, and volunteers. Our single adult shelter was the first to expand its operating hours to 24 hours a day/seven days a week; it continues to operate this way to date. Elder and chronically ill guests were placed in Hennepin County’s isolation hotels and the volunteer meal serving program – which Simpson had relied upon for 39 years – was paused.
Thanks to the community, donors, and funders, we were able to order in two catered meals a day instead. But canceling meal prep was simultaneously an easy decision to make and a difficult one. We value the hard work and generosity of Corporate Caterers of the Twin Cities and Provision Community Restaurant. We couldn’t have kept the guests fed without them. But shelter guests and volunteers missed those little human moments they shared over home-cooked meals.
“It’s probably our most popular volunteer activity,” Director of Volunteer Engagement Christina Giese says. “People really love cooking together and being with one another in the kitchen… and we have really missed the community energy of the volunteers serving breakfast and dinner and visiting with shelter guests.”
The guests’ and staff’s health and safety had to come first.
Months have passed since then, and there’s finally some good news. Along with continued help from caterers, Simpson is slowly bringing back the shelter meal group program with added precautions of volunteers being fully vaccinated and masked up. Over the course of the summer, Aaron’s been in charge of slowly easing volunteers back into the swing of things after a long hiatus. Just as he’s returning to the shelter, so are they.
“We’re still really getting back into the hang of it,” Program Manager Robert Hofmann says. As we continue to navigate through the pandemic, staff and volunteers have to get creative sometimes. In mid-September, when a shelter guest tested positive for Covid, that evening’s scheduled meal prep volunteers quickly switched gears and dropped off food rather than coming to the shelter to make and serve dinner.
But so far, so good. Everyone’s been impressed with the community’s willingness to be flexible and their eagerness to return. Many of them, Giese says, are having their first in-person meet-ups since the pandemic began in that very kitchen. Coming back together feels good.
In fact, it feels good in a lot of ways. Robert was also there during Aaron’s first stint with Simpson a decade ago. They worked together and stayed good friends after Aaron left for New York. Now, they’re on the same team again.
“I’m really happy that I’m here,” he says.
A lot of us know the feeling.
There’s a lot to do in the meantime. Aaron’s excited to get to know Simpson’s longtime volunteers. He’s particularly hopeful he can bring in some new faces – particularly younger, more diverse ones. There’s room for more people to help out.
You can learn more about all the ways you can get involved – while staying safe – here: https://simpsonhousing.org/volunteer/meal-provider-information/
If you’re interested in learning more about serving a meal at the shelter, you can also get in touch with Aaron at aramos@simpsonhousing.org.