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Coronavirus forces Eva’s Village to change community kitchen service to meals ‘to go’ for the homeless | Paterson Times

Coronavirus forces Eva’s Village to change community kitchen service to meals ‘to go’ for the homeless

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Hundreds of people gather every day for a hot meal at the Community Kitchen at Eva’s Village. Those gatherings will temporarily no longer take place due to the new coronavirus, according to an announcement issued by the nonprofit group on Saturday.

Eva’s Village will continue to serve its clients by distributing meals “to go.”

“Our Community Kitchen has always been the heart of our Village, and we remain as committed to feeding our community today as we were when we began in 1982,” said Dave Bein, community kitchen chef at Eva’s Village. “While the daily gathering in our kitchen is a beloved tradition, at this time our priority is to protect the health of our community members. Following state recommendations to limit large group gatherings, we are temporarily transitioning to distributing meals ‘to go’ twice each weekday, with additional meals given on Fridays to sustain people through the weekend.”

Eva’s Village also provides three meals a day to its emergency shelters, transitional housing, and halfway houses.

The nonprofit also temporarily suspended or changed other services that involves group gatherings. Services includes:

  • All outpatient services and all on-site activities at the Recovery Community Center. Counselors and peer mentors will offer telephone outreach to clients until it is safe to re-open. A hotline has been set up for anyone who needs to talk with a peer specialist – call 973-754-6784, Monday-Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
  • Culinary School at Eva’s Village has suspended classes and participation by all outside volunteers for the next several weeks.
  • Eva’s Village has postponed its ‘Gamblers and Gamers’ Casino Night fundraisers that was scheduled for Mar. 27. A tentative new date is set for Apr. 23.

“These decisions are far from easy, but we do believe they are necessary. We hope to resume normal operations as soon as possible, but as we all know, this situation is constantly evolving,” said Eva’s Village’s chief executive officer Dan Renaldo. “We will continue to closely monitor the guidance and recommendations being provided from the CDC and other officials, and we are coordinating with Mayor Sayegh and his team in the City of Paterson, as well as our County and State partners and our nonprofit partners throughout the community.”

Eva’s Village will continue to operate its Halfway Houses for Men, Women, and Women with Children; Shelters for Men, Women, and Families; Transitional Housing for Parents with Children, according to the announcement. The nonprofit said measures have been put into place to protect all staff and residents. Opioid Overdose Recovery Program run in partnership with St. Joseph’s Health and St. Mary’s Hospital will continue to deploy recovery specialists to meet patients in local hospital rooms to link them with recovery treatment and support services.

The nonprofit operates through donations. Anyone interested in donating to Eva’s Village should visit its online donation page.

Eva’s Village is also in need of bar soap, gift cards to BJ’s, Costco, and ShopRite, and large boxes of tissues. It is also seeking medical supplies, medical masks (N95 or ear-loop), gowns, gloves, and eye masks. Items can be dropped off Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at 393 Main Street in Paterson.

Updated Mar. 15 at 11:32 a.m.

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