Two Americas

In October, the Interfaith Community Shelter received a $231,500 commitment of CARES Act funds from Santa Fe County and the city of Santa Fe, money dedicated to assisting individuals who have been struggling due to the pandemic. To date, some of the money has paid for motel stays for our older and/or medically fragile guests. The balance has gone to preventing homelessness in our community by helping individuals and families who are struggling to pay rent and utility bills. I never imagined the incredible need we would witness when we started using these funds. The first apartment complex we called had 60 units; 30 of them were in arrears. As our case managers called more property owners, it became apparent how devastating the pandemic has been to hardworking people in our community.

I am accustomed to witnessing poverty, daily, among our shelter guests. However, it has been incredibly difficult to watch person after person enter the doors of a homeless shelter, a place they never imagined being, to ask for assistance. Out of survival, they are summoning the courage to seek help, trying to salvage their lives from the ruins of COVID-19. With the stock market topping 30,000, it is more apparent than ever that we still live in two Americas. I can only hope somewhere in our future, when all of this is behind us, the richest country in the world will find a way for a more equitable distribution of its wealth. If our democracy is going to evolve intact, I think it will be a necessity, not an option.

Joe Jordan-Berenis Interfaith Community Shelter