By: Kyle Smith, Marketing Intern
So many things look and feel different in the wake of COVID 19. We see it keenly in the way that Thelma’s Kitchen has changed, serving free to-go lunches now out of the front door rather than to neighbors gathered around community tables.
“I miss the daily interaction and camaraderie with the community,” said Frank Zwirlein, Urgent Care Advocate at Reconciliation Services. Frank has been working onsite during the pandemic, meeting with case management clients and assisting neighbors with social services. “I still go down to Thelma’s Kitchen nearly every day, wave to our neighbors, and have conversations from a safe distance.”
Frank Zwirlein, MSW, Urgent Care Advocate with a volunteer in Thelma’s Kitchen (pre-COVID 19)
Frank began working at RS in August 2019. “When I found the job posting online, I felt for the first time in my life that, not only did I want to work at this place, but I had to.” he said. “I was so moved by the mission and the stories I read about their work in the community.”
After receiving his Masters in Social Work in 2010, he began working in hospice care. His job was to comfort and care for individuals in their final stage of life, easing their suffering and supporting their loved ones as they grieved.
“When I told people that I worked in hospice they would get a sad look on their face,” he said. “I never found the work depressing though, because while it is immensely difficult, death is a normal part of life.”
Frank said he sees similarities and differences between his previous hospice work and his work at RS. “The goal of both is to provide support -- physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. But to be honest, I’m more sad when I hear our neighbors talk about how difficult their lives can be. While death is natural, there’s nothing natural about the dysfunctional systems and inter-generational injustices that led to their suffering.”
The importance of relationship building and earning trust in the community cannot be underestimated. “Many of our neighbors don’t have experience being treated with respect and kindness while seeking services,” he said. “But here, there’s a sense of community and such a wonderful mix of people.”
Frank said he knows that these relationships don’t come easy. “I had to earn that trust and we all had to get to know each other,” he said. As Frank began working alongside neighbors, he said he also had to grow personally.
“When I started this work I had to confront my own prejudices and stereotypes that I didn’t know existed in me,” Frank said. “Before I started working at RS, I didn’t think my life was sheltered. But now I can see that I did live in a bubble.” Now, he said his worldview has expanded and he shares relationships and trust with people he would never have known before.
“Part of the reason stereotypes and prejudices exist is because we don’t know each other,” he said. But, at a place like Thelma’s Kitchen and RS where neighbors from different backgrounds, different races, and different parts of town come together, Frank said, “it will surely lead to good, to more mutual understanding, to more trust.”
While the COVID-19 pandemic has made Frank’s work more challenging, as he’s missing his time in Thelma’s Kitchen sitting with neighbors and listening to their stories, he said he is more inspired than ever by just how resilient his clients are. “We are all in this crazy pandemic together,” Frank said. “It’s truly a shared experience.”
However, he said, our clients are already so resilient, dealing with violence, poverty, discrimination, and isolation. “I am not seeing attitudes of fear or desperation so much,” he said. “I’m seeing bravery -- people getting up every day and having faith that things will get better, that the worst thing won’t be the last thing.”
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Reconciliation Services remains open during this COVID 19 crisis, offering essential services like: case management, housing and utilities assistance, ID and document assistance, medical supplies, trauma and depression therapy, and free to-go lunches through Thelma’s Kitchen. Please consider supporting these vital services and donate today.