We had a first positive case, and another one soon after. It’s helpful, to be honest, and vulnerable and able to say that times like these are scary. I have long-term relationships and friendships where supportive people said, “Hey, I know this is hard. It helps to have the right team, whether the people around you or in the community. How has leadership played a role in your response?

The community has rallied around, and the support has been neat. We’ve had hundreds of people bringing thousands of sack lunches at home, bringing, so that’s been blessing. We lost all these volunteers, yet the number of people coming for meals went from 850 a day to 1200 or 1300 people a day. I learned how to develop your points, find the right tone, and lead through a crisis from some excellent communication teachers. We had to communicate well with newspapers and TV stations about our COVID-positive person that was identified and stayed at the mission. It’s been a huge leadership opportunity to communicate with everyone who is scared: guests coming here, volunteers, and the greater community. It’s been an enormous opportunity to learn and grow. What have you learned during the pandemic? We have between 55 and 60 men that are sleeping there every night, right now. So they were responsive and a great partner with us. By Monday, we had things set up and going. The board took four days to get an MOU together, starting on Thursday. They talked to their board, and got back to me within 48 hours. I got about 25 leads, but it was an old PLU friend who actually gave me the phone number of Bellarmine’s president.īellarmine (a well-known Catholic high school in Tacoma) was interested. I called everyone I knew and posted on Facebook, looking for a large facility space that we could use as a shelter. After that, I worked at the MultiCare Foundation and came to the rescue mission in 2018.ĭuring the initial spring COVID-19 outbreak, how did the partnership with Bellarmine Prep come about? Then I was Executive Director at Helping Hand House, a small Puyallup shelter for homeless families.

We have several Lutes that work for the rescue mission.Īfter graduation, I was offered a job by a nonprofit, Metropolitan Development Council, where I worked for almost 18 years. The rescue mission was on my radar as a place that impacts the community, on my shortlist of workplaces for more than a decade. In college, I volunteered here, doing some Street Under the Bridge Ministry with Ron Vignec, a former campus pastor. I’ve been with Tacoma Rescue for two years. How long have you been with Tacoma Rescue Mission and what drew you here?

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