Welcome to my page.
My name is Erica Vera, and I am the Network Director
for the Rochester Area Interfaith Hospitality Network.
Here's some things I wrote in our last newsletter.
This will allow you to see how we operate the program
day-to-day
The Day Center was buzzing with activity the morning
I stopped in to see Erica Vera. Her warm and welcoming
smile invited me into her sunny office. I felt immediately
that her ability to focus calmly in a genuine, open
way allows her to be the understanding advocate that
our guests need. I wanted to understand the real challenges
she was facing as the Director. “You know the
families usually come to us with only the clothes
they have on, and usually they come from a dangerous
or an emergency situation. They often need medical
attention,” Erica explained. “RAIHN gives
them breathing room and a respite so they can find
a place that won’t cause another emergency.”
Erica works closely with each guest, first to get
them the medical attention they need, then by moving
down the list of challenges, from finding clean and
safe housing to assisting with job applications. She
takes the families to visit neighborhoods where they
would feel safe living, and helps them negotiate the
arrangements for renting – she even helps them
make the move!
By staying in touch with all the network coordinators,
Erica knows whom to call to help a particular guest.
Some successes? One young woman arrived with her baby.
She had been an accountant in her native South America
but her language skills proved a huge barrier to her
here. Once she could move into a safe place, Erica
found a RAIHN network volunteer to coach her in English
so she could begin to prepare to find work to support
her child and herself.
A single mother with a A single mother with a serious
illness and many necessary prescriptions arrived.
Erica helped her sort out some of the medical red
tape so she can feel as healthy as possible while
she tries to find safe housing. A family from an African
nation with three older teenagers arrived at the Center.
Erica helped them find safe housing and managed to
get all three
children registered at MCC with financial aid for
the fall. One very young mom with several young kids
felt so overwhelmed and depressed she didn’t
know where to start. Erica helped her get appropriate
mental health attention to help her begin to find
a place for her family.
“It’s very gratifying to be able to help
these people make real changes,” Erica told
me. “Most social services caseworkers manage
hundreds of cases and they can only inch each case
forward very slowly. At RAIHN, we can help these families
make the huge leap from homelessness into
safe housing with a chance to start over.”
