People – Passion – Professionalism: Staff experiences during the pandemic

Veronica Perez, Receptionist

What do you like best about your job? 

My colleagues are all passionate about their job, and they are all wonderful people. This agency has taught me that it is okay to feel vulnerable, and that we are all human. And that the community I serve is very appreciative and they are always willing to help each other out.

What was it like working at CSA this past year during the pandemic? How did your job change? How did you flex, pivot and stretch to meet increasing client and/or agency need? 

I joined CSA at the beginning of the pandemic with a mixture of emotions. Like everyone, I was scared because there was a lot of unknown information about the virus, but I was also happy to be part of an organization that provides emergency assistance to those in need. Right away I learned that my job didn’t only consist of answering emails and phones, but that I became a person who provided a human connection to our clients. I was answering the door constantly to take rental applications. I would explain the rental assistance process to monolingual Spanish speaking clients, and offered to scan their applications in case they lacked access to a scanner.

What keeps you going at work during times of great uncertainty … like COVID-19?

OUR AWESOME NEIGHBORS. I want to say that I feel that we are blessed to have great neighbors who donate to our agency. Our organization has been very fortunate to have neighbors who have donated new clothing, diapers, baby formula, and detergent. Items that restore our clients’ dignity. Just when I think we are about to run out of detergent or diapers, a neighbor rings the doorbell and they donate more of those items. These actions give me hope and the will to continue to work through these times of uncertainty.