By Caitlyn Gudmundsen, Senior Manager of Program Development and Outreach
Today’s Front Line Hero is Lutheran Social Services of New York, whose staff are working to ensure their community has safe access to needed food and toiletries.
Lutheran Social Services of New York’s (LSSNY) New LIFE Center of Long Island serves low-income residents, most of whom are mothers with children. The Center partners with more than 40 churches to accomplish its work of feeding individuals and families who are food insecure.
The Center has kept its doors open during the COVID-19 pandemic to serve families in need, and Program Coordinator Hylkije Halili and her colleagues worked quickly to instate new health and safety measures to protect themselves and their clients from the virus. The Center has been preparing prepackaged boxes which are distributed outside the Center so clients do not need to come inside to access food. The packages are filled with protein, canned food, fresh produce, and toiletries, and each box is tailored to clients’ dietary restrictions and family size. So far, the Center has supplied food to 1,154 individuals who are food insecure during the pandemic.
When asked if she is concerned about being on the front lines during the pandemic, Ms. Halili replied that helping the community is important, and that all clients are abiding by the safety protocols. She said she enjoys working with LSSNY because the organization offers resources to people in need and truly helps the community.
Thank you to LSSNY, and to Hylkije Halili in particular, for helping feed your community through the pandemic!
