Over the past seven weeks, Wesley Housing has received over 200 assistance requests from residents experiencing critical needs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
With the COVID-19 restrictions, we can no longer do face-to-face programming. Instead, our team has begun reaching out to all of our households directly either to assist with emergency needs related to COVID-19, or just to check in and see how they are doing.
For Wesley Housing resident Ms. L at Beverly Park Apartments, paying rent has been extremely difficult. Ms. L. was laid off from her housekeeping job due to health and safety concerns and is unable to pay her rent at this time. She does not speak any English and can’t read or write, which makes it challenging for her to identify resources to continue to supporting herself and her three-year-old son while she is out of work. With the help of our Housing Stability Specialist, Ms. L. was able to schedule an appointment with the City of Alexandria Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) to get the help she needs.
Wesley Housing is committed to aiding each household during these unprecedented times.
“The goal is to help our residents advocate for themselves. But when they’re unable to, it’s our job to advocate for them,” says Housing Stability Specialist Leesa Olson.
Our Resident Services team communicates with our residents on a daily basis via Zoom and phone providing referrals and connecting them to resources based on each household’s unique situation. Our team is committed to fulfilling their needs through continued communications and follow-up to ensure assistance requests are resolved and resources have been allocated. We are so thankful for the work they do, remaining steadfast in our mission to build up the lives of our most vulnerable community members.