Stories

As communities across the nation address the unique challenges posed by COVID-19, Volunteers of America Delaware Valley (VOADV) staff have been working tirelessly over the past few months to minimize all associated risks of the virus for staff, clients and the communities we serve. Every year, VOADV provides essential programs and services to approximately 13,000 of our communities’ most vulnerable individuals– ranging from homelessness, reentry, veterans assistance and affordable housing services, to specialized programs for addiction, traumatic brain injury and/or intellectual disabilities. While COVID-19 is afflicting thousands of people across the globe, many of the individuals served by VOADV are…

Behind her mask, Tiwanda Randolph wears many hats: proud mother, trusted friend, Blackwood-native, hard worker. Now, Tiwanda can add one more to the list – valued member of VOADV’s Housing Services team! Tiwanda is the new Service Coordinator for Lindenwold Towers and Waterfront Village – two of VOADV’s senior housing facilities, located in Lindenwold and Bordentown, respectively. As Service Coordinator, Tiwanda is responsible for improving the quality of life for her residents by developing and implementing supportive services at each location and providing daily assistance to residents. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a number of unique challenges to the senior…

Since 2015, VOADV has operated the Safe Return program, providing rapid and immediate voluntary reentry services to residents across southern New Jersey and in Trenton specifically. Through this program, VOADV provides an array of essential services to those exiting the criminal justice system – diverting individuals away from costly crisis-oriented systems, including emergency rooms and jails, and, instead, to expert social service providers who can more appropriately address their needs and ensure success. Over the past few months, VOADV has been challenged to find new, creative ways to reduce costs in order to preserve the Safe Return program and its…

Meet Nora Miller and Kaylee Teesdale from Haddon Heights – these two Glenview Elementary School students are best friends and your typical, happy fifth graders. They enjoy going to school, spending time with one another, going on adventures with their parents and absolutely love arts & crafts. But these days, life is a little different for these two friends. They know they can’t go to school, play with friends or leave their houses on weekends like they used to – and the reason is COVID-19. Although young, Nora and Kaylee understand that the coronavirus is very dangerous, and resources are…

As one of the most densely populated state in the nation, New Jersey has also been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The state as a whole has experienced a high number of COVID-19 cases from its northern most counties all the way to its southern most counties. Sadly, New Jersey also has one of the highest numbers of COVID-19 cases in its prisons and jails in the country. These facilities house large numbers of individuals with chronic diseases and complex medical issues, putting them at greater risk of contracting and spreading novel coronavirus. Unfortunately, this has resulted in many…

My grandson recently asked me why people are saying that they “don’t like black people.” My grandson is 6 years old and African American. When you consider the innocence of children, you struggle with how to even begin to explain it all – the technicalities, the decades of repression and suppression, the harsh and sometimes brutal realities of inequality and injustice prevalent in our society. You obviously cannot get into a geopolitical dialogue with a child – you have to break it all down into the simplest terms. You say things like, “They just don’t know you,” “They don’t know all…