A Virtual Visit with Beatitude House By Jessica Driscoll-OwensCommunications & CommunityRelations Coordinator A Virtual Visit with Beatitude House For nearly 30 years, Beatitude House has adapted to meet the changing needs of our clients and our community. With the onset of this pandemic, our lives have been turned upside down. Everyone is affected and at Beatitude House, caring for over 200 people daily, in three different programs, has taken a great deal of creativity. The pandemic has been challenging for all families, but for those working to maintain permanent housing while changing the habits that left them homeless, the struggle is even more difficult. We’ve been working diligently to keep those in our programs housed, supplied with fresh food, as well as provided rent and utility assistance as needed. As all of our clients have very low or no-income. We provide most of their basic necessities. In addition, the majority of our case management, tutoring and mentoring sessions turned virtual. We’ve established regular check-ins and are making sure to provide extra care for those struggling with technology or online learning. In May of 2020, we began a Child Wellness initiative to further support the children of Beatitude House. This initiative has helped ease the burdens our children are facing. We’ve engaged our kids to keep them busy and set up desks for them to have their own work spaces, while making sure they had Wi-Fi and tablets if needed. This year has also brought challenges financially. Our largest fundraiser, as well as all other events, had to be canceled. General donations have slowed dramatically and many foundations have stopped general funding to focus on COVID specific needs. Our resources at this time are being stretched very thin. As we prepare for Christmas, your help is desperately needed. With your help, we can make sure all of the women and children in our programs experience the love and excitement they truly deserve this holiday season. Donations last year kept our families warm. When you provide gifts for our families, they feel so blessed knowing there are wonderful people in this world who truly care! Gifts for our women and children can be found on our Amazon Registry here: https://smile.amazon.com/hz/charitylist/ls/2V42EJ98GLMMQ/ref=smi_ext_lnk_lcl_cl