Staff Spotlight: Tara

A typical summer around here is very, very hot with no breeze whatsoever,” says Tara Wright-Allen. As our Mission Support Front Desk Monitor, Tara routinely sees the effects that punishing heat has on our non-resident guests. “It starts getting hot around 9:00am,” she tells us. “They can get overheated and dehydrated. We have to make sure we have plenty of water and hygiene bags, things to help make the wait comfortable for them.”

The hygiene bags include a toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant and body spray. “Even if they’re outside on the street, they still want to feel clean,” Tara says of our guests. She also provides bagged lunches to guests.

The biggest demand in the summer, of course, is for water. Since she started her job in May 2016, Tara has distributed hundreds – maybe thousands – of bottles. “Every minute, we’re handing out water!”

Tara also monitors the security camera, answers the phone and responds to questions about operating hours and other matters. In addition, she sees to the needs of UGM-TC’s residents.

“The Mission is a Christian-based facility, so I know I’m doing God’s work here,” Tara Says. Her work has gone on without a hitch even during the COVID-19 crisis. “I didn’t miss a day. And at the end of the day, it’s still the same as far as handing out water and getting things done!”

To people who see Tara in her blue UGM-TC shirt and ask her what it’s like to work at the Mission, she says, “You should come experience it, become a volunteer or an employee. You get a whole different picture. This job has blessed me.”

And we thank Tara for blessing so many over the past four years!