The Neighbors Helping Neighbors organization has launched its adapted laundry assistance program to continue its mission to help those in need have the ability to clean their clothes.
NHN launched its laundry night in 2017 and for more than two years helped people in need twice a month. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional format was no longer viable with more than 30 people at the laundromat at a time.
After being shut down since last March, NHN founder David Goos felt it was time for the group to adapt the initiative to provide laundry assistance for those who needed it. NHN members met via Zoom to discuss options and they came up with a plan to help people have access to laundry and still be conscious of the ongoing health crisis.
As a volunteer organization, they didn’t have the facility to accommodate a project of this scale. NHN has enlisted help from the Salvation Army in Newton to help gather information from the people and distribute the laundry items. The Salvation Army is set up to assist people already and they were willing to help.
“Many of these families already have a relationship with the Salvation Army or have been at the Salvation Army in the past, that type of thing so it seemed like something that would be a natural flow,” Goos said. “We’re trying not to overwhelm them so we typically only do maybe three or four orders in a day.”
Those who require assistance can fill out a form with contact information and the number of people you will be doing laundry for. This allows NHN to figure out how many loads each family or group will need so the proper amount of detergent, dryer sheets and quarters can be distributed.
Once the kit is ready, staff at the Salvation Army will call the primary contact to let them know it is ready. They then can pick up the materials and do their laundry when it works in their schedule and hopefully in smaller groups.
NHN organizer Judy Monroe has helped get the new format up and running so the group is able to keep track of all the requests. She makes use of a spreadsheet to help calculate the number of loads a family needs to be sure they receive the proper amount of supplies, based on the number of people in the group. It also keeps track of the number of loads the jug of detergent should do so they can receive a more detergent at the right time.
“My spreadsheet tells me this person received a bottle of 64 loads on this day and it tells me the next date that they need detergent,” Monroe said.
She has lined up volunteers to help assemble the laundry kits. Each volunteer is assigned six families and are given enough supplies and quarters to fulfill at least a month worth of requests. They have included instruction sheets with each kit so the families know how to make sure the detergent lasts for as many loads listed on the bottle.
NHN has also accounted for people who don’t have transportation to still be able to make requests. If they need a ride, a voucher to use HIRTA or a cab company will be included in the kit.
Monroe hopes the system will run smoothly as things move along and the bugs get worked out. Both Goos and Monroe feel it is important to continue the mission to help people gain access to laundry services.
“Having clean clothes is so important. When you think about a person’s self-esteem, in order to feel good about yourself, you need to be wearing something you feel good about,” Monroe said.
Goos echoed her sentiments, “Having clean clothes, clothes that smell fresh, I just think it helps their self-esteem. I think anytime you help someone you’re stepping out in faith.”
The program started in January. Each family is able to make a new request every 15 days, which is in line with the original program where laundry nights were held twice a month. Monroe said more requests are starting to come in and the clientele list is starting to build back up.
“We are just happy we are able to do this and provide that much assistance for someone because sometimes the families have to make their decision between clean clothes and food,” Monroe said. “So if I can pay for your laundry so you can put food in front of your kids, I’m going to do that.”
For those wanting to help the laundry assistance program continue, contributions can be made out to Neighbors Helping Neighbors and can be sent to First Lutheran Church at 309 East Third Street North.
Contact Pam Pratt at 641-792-3121 ext. 6530 or pampratt@newtondailynews.com
The Link LonkFebruary 01, 2021 at 09:34PM
https://www.newtondailynews.com/news/local/2021/02/01/nhn-introduces-adapted-laundry-assistance-program/
NHN introduces adapted laundry assistance program – Newton Daily News - Newton Daily News
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