Show Up with Marissa on GivingTuesday

The COVID-19 crisis has impacted Emmaus and the disability community in ways that are both universal and unique. Marissa is a Direct Support Lead and has been working with the women and men of Emmaus for 7 years. Marissa and her team are currently supporting Martha, Darla, and Roxy.

Since March, Marissa and her team have had to adjust to the women being home more often. They would usually go to their day program three days a week, as well as go out more in the community. Some of Emmaus’ most critical work at the start of the pandemic was to make sure that Marissa and her team were scheduled to work additional shifts that hadn’t existed before.

This shift in schedule was also an adjustment for the ladies since they were used to going out more often. The women have missed out on spending time with friends, going out to eat, bowling, and going to the movies. When they needed to stay home all of a sudden, Marissa had to remind them why they couldn’t go out to do their usual fun activities.

“It’s harder to keep the ladies busy now that we can’t go out and do as much as we used to,” says Marissa. “We try our best to keep the ladies busy while staying at home. We got them a Firestick so they can watch their favorite shows, and they all got tablets so they can watch them at the same time. We’ve been coloring pictures to hang up around the home, and we have been making a variety of desserts a couple of times each month.”

Despite the challenges, Marissa has done a phenomenal job at keeping her clients happy at home, but she can NOT do it alone! Your gifts on Giving Tuesday will make sure that there is someone always someone, like Marissa, who is prepared to care for our clients.

“If we weren’t here for our clients, I don’t think they would be able to live their life to its full potential. If Emmaus would have stopped supporting our clients these last few months, their overall health would have suffered.”

Emmaus Direct Support Professionals have shown up for our clients when they needed them the most. Now we need YOU to show up for them. We need every person reading this letter who can make a gift to do so. This Giving Tuesday is your chance to Show-Up for Those Who Need It Most.