DALLAS (1080 KRLD)- The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center is planning a fundraiser in April to raise money for clean-up from the record cold in February. The winter storm damaged pipes and other infrastructure at the campus along I-30 near Downtown Dallas.
In addition to the need to pay for repairs, the Bridge has also seen record demand during the pandemic.
"We have seen such an impact on our workforce, especially folks making minimum wage or just above it. Those jobs have gone away," says Bridge Chief Executive Officer David Woody. "We're at a particularly unique time where we are engaging our guests, asking, 'What might you really want to do that's different, that you've never had an opportunity to do?'"
Woody says shelters and non-profits have been communicating with each other to find space for people while they deal with increased demand and a decrease in capacity during the pandemic.
"Spread reduction, social distancing expectations limited what we could do," he says. "On our campus, we had no positive COVID-19 cases through Christmas. That was because of the protocols we have in place but also managing the number of folks we have on campus."
Staff at the center have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The Bridge has a Parkland Hospital clinic on-site, and that clinic is now vaccinating residents on Wednesdays. Woody says the clinic vaccinates 50-100 people a week.
"We open our small dining hall, any homeless citizen can come, we do a rapid test for COVID, we get them inside, we get them inoculated," he says. "Then we monitor them for reactions with our EMT on campus. We have Dallas Fire Rescue EMTs on campus 12 hours a day."
Woody says Parkland is using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because it is one dose. He says that will protect the homeless, who are less likely to return to the same place for a second dose.
Monday, April 12, the Bridge will hold a charity golf tournament at the Four Seasons in Las Colinas to help pay for repairs to its campus and increased demand.
"The past 13 months have been extraordinarily challenging," says Bridge Chief Development Officer Nick Colletti. "Our services have not stopped, and they can't stop. We have to keep providing those essential services for our guests, no matter the circumstances, whether it's COVID, whether it's Snowmageddon, we have to press on."
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"We have some fabulous companies in town who are rallying around to support us," Colletti says. "When you consider the meaningful cause for the event, that's what makes it all worthwhile. We all like golf, we all want to be in the sunshine, but when you factor in what this is for and why it matters, that's going to be the difference. That's really the key for this event."