Shelter Director Lives With Homeless During Coronavirus Crisis
May 23, 2020 | News | No Comments
AURORA, IL — Ryan Dowd doesn’t really know what day it is when you ask him. That’s not because he doesn’t care. In fact, it’s because Dowd cares so much. What’s on Dowd’s mind during the new coronavirus crisis is helping the people he calls the “most vulnerable” at Hesed House in Aurora, the second-largest homeless shelter in the state and where executive director Dowd has been living for the past 18 days.
Dowd told Patch he’s staying at the shelter because people are needed there 24/7. “In a crisis like this, we need to have staff on-site all the time,” he said
He’s also staying there to protect his wife, a cancer survivor, from possible infection because he is in contact with a lot of people in his work at Hesed House.
Dowd told Patch that staying at Hesed House also shows residents and staff that he “agree[s] with every safeguard [the shelter has] been using.”
According Dowd, as of Friday, there have been no known or suspected cases of the coronavirus at the shelter, which he calls “nothing short of a miracle.”
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Changes At The Shelter
Dowd has been keeping a daily YouTube diary of his stay at Hesed House. In each update, he shares what Hesed House is doing to help the homeless population in Aurora to stay safe during the coronavirus outbreak.
He said there has been an increase in residents during the day as libraries and other places are closed and “people have nowhere to go.”
In response, Dowd and the team at Hesed House rolled up their sleeves and converted a warehouse space into a third shelter in the course of a weekend. The former adult shelter was converted to house potentially immunocompromised people in the space, with every other bed occupied to practice social distancing.
Meanwhile, the new shelter will house otherwise-healthy adults.
The new shelter space is complete with a no-touch hand-washing station, showers and a kitchen space. In a video on YouTube, Dowd said the tents, which include sleeping bags and blankets, will help encourage social distancing and will help keep residents warm.
To help keep people occupied throughout the day, Dowd said Hesed House plays movies on a projection screen. The residents also had a special visit from Aurora Public Library to drop off books and DVDs for the residents to enjoy.
Dowd also told Patch all residents have a medical clinic with two nurses on-site and a doctor who participates via the Zoom videoconference app.
“We’re gonna spend whatever it takes to keep people alive, and we’ll figure it out later,” Dowd said.
How Residents Can Help
Hesed House relies on the help of residents and church groups to make food and monetary donations throughout the year, and the need is even greater during the coronavirus shutdown, according to Dowd.
Dowd told Patch, “It’s been really exciting to see the community rally around the most vulnerable at a time when it would be so easy for people to just worry about themselves.”
Groups and individuals can still drop off food donations to Hesed House while practicing social distancing. They can simply drive up to Hesed House, at 659 River St., and place the items on the back of the white truck there.
Dowd said needs at Hesed House change daily. Residents can find out what items are needed as well as donate funds by visiting the Hesed House website.
Lessons Dowd Has Learned
Dowd told Patch that staying at Hesed House has taught him some valuable lessons that he thinks can benefit others.
He said, “The camaraderie with the staff has been something I’ll look back on for the rest of my life. Being down in the trenches with the other staff has been meaningful.”
Dowd said living with Aurora’s “most vulnerable” has taught him how to cope with the coronavirus crisis. He said, “I don’t see the level of panic among individuals living in the shelter that I see elsewhere”
He added that he thinks it’s because “this vulnerability and uncertainty that we feel now in the midst of this crisis is the vulnerability that our residents feel every day.”
“When your lives already have fallen apart, a global pandemic doesn’t really change it that much,” Dowd said.
In a heartfelt comment in one of his YouTube videos, Dowd addressed the impact staying at the shelter has had on him. He said, “People ask me: With all the horrible things you see in a homeless shelter, how can you believe in the innate goodness of humanity?”
His response: “I think it’s because I’m here that I do.”
Illinois Coronavirus Update April 4: 10,357 Cases, 243 Deaths
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