Photo | Matt Wright
Stephanie Page
September 4, 2020
covid stories
COVID Stories: Abby’s House finds its support services are now more essential
Photo | Courtesy of Abby's House
Worcester nonprofit Abby's House has gotten so busy during the coronavirus pandemic, it has added staff.
By Devina Bhalla
The COVID-19 pandemic hit, and Abby’s House in Worcester was as essential as ever.
“The support for the women we serve has been as important, if not more important, than it's ever been,” said Executive Director Stephanie Page.
The nonprofit Abby’s House provides shelter, housing, and support services to homeless, abused, and low-income women and children. All of its shelters and housing stayed open through the pandemic.
“We provide a caring, supportive place for women where they can find a sense of connection,” said Page.
It is important to prevent isolation during this time, so not only did all of Abby’s services continue to operate, but the nonprofit increased communication as much as possible as well, said Page.
“We have advocates who work with all the women at Abby’s House on what their needs are and they’ve increased their outreach,” said Page. “They shifted a lot of it to be on the phone instead of in person.”
It has been working with the Worcester Together Coalition – a fundraising effort between the City of Worcester, the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, and the United Way of Central Massachusetts – to respond to the community’s needs.
Within the shelters and housing, Abby’s House increased cleaning along with holding educational sessions educating women how to protect themselves.
“Women find their home at Abby’s House, and we want to make sure that home is safe,” said Page.
It is now looking to add back more in person services and support. We are continuing to figure out safe ways to add more in-person support for our women, said Page.
One new program is an outdoor fitness program. It was recently started by a woman who was a child in the shelter herself.
The only area temporarily closed due to the pandemic was the thrift shop. Abby’s House followed state retail guidelines with the thrift shop, closing it from mid-March to the beginning of June. Now back open, there are new donation guidelines, reduced donation capacity, and many sanitizing protocols.
Because of the increased need for support, all of the staff at Abby’s House continues to work for the organization, at a time when other organizations were furloughing or laying off their employees. It even added two new staff positions, a programming position and a front desk position.
The organization has 15 full-time staff and 10-12 part-time staff, with typically more than 200 volunteers a year. There has been a decrease in volunteers because some need to stay home for their safety. However, many continued to volunteer throughout the pandemic.
“Our staff and our volunteers have been amazing. They are really committed to the mission,” said Page.
Long term, Abby’s House expects the community’s needs are only going to increase.
“We know that particularly with growing unemployment and the current economy that it will be hard for people long term,” said Page.
“We know that once the eviction ban is lifted, we are going to see an increased need,” said Page.
Luckily, Abby’s House’s donors continue to support the organization despite it not being able to host its annual fundraisers.
“We depend on the commitment of our donors to do what we do and keep women safe especially in this time,” said Page, “and our donors have been incredible.”
It held its largest fundraiser of the year, its Springtacular, virtually in May and will host a virtual 5K in October. Abby’s House received support from other local organizations.
“At a place like Abby’s House, it is the community that makes all of this possible,” said Page, “so a lot of credit goes to the people who support Abby’s House for keeping the women at Abby’s safe and supported during this time.”
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