TYLER, Texas —
In the days of COVID-19, many may be wondering where they are going to get their next meal.
That was the case for Linda, a disabled veteran in Tyler who says she hadn't eaten in four days.
Linda says she reached out to another organization, but they told her she wouldn't be delivered food for another three weeks.
When the Hand Up Network got word of Linda’s situation, they immediately reached out.
“I mean, she just basically was just trying to survive,” Sam Smith, CEO of The Hand Up Network Said. “When we found out her situation, she had not eaten in four days. And she just really, just got in a bad spot. I mean, let's face it, everybody has been kind of in a situation where this is kind of scary."
“Mr. Smith come out,” Linda said. “He come out and he asked me a few questions. You know what my situation was and everything.”
The organization evaluated Linda’s situation and immediately went to get groceries.
“It was a lifesaver,” Linda said. “I was like, Oh my God, I get to eat today. I was ecstatic. I was over the moon with it because I was surprised. I mean, he took the time, he said he was the CEO of the company and I was like the face that he would take the time to come out and then get groceries for me like that. It was amazing.”
“The look on her face was the best thing that you can imagine,” Smith said. “It's such a blessing to be able to help those that just really need a hand up.”
THE HAND UP NETWORK
The Hand up Network is founded on helping people who are in a tough season in life.
“We're not a welfare group to just give you some insight,” Smith said. “If you want to hand out we’re the wrong place, but if you really need help, we are here to provide that hand up, and so once we understand your situation and know the details and so forth, we'll jump through every hoop you can imagine to make sure that we get these people taken care of.”
“If you're starving, and you know, the world is in a crisis right now with COVID-19 and everything, so everybody's in a shelter order, you know, it's hard to get out and do what you need to do, or whatever, but anyway, don't hesitate to use the resources that are available,” Linda said.
If you are in need of help and think you may qualify you can reach out to the organization by calling 903-597-5334.
“As an organization, our focus is trying to help people, but we also don't want to have the resources that we have available in this community to be taken advantage of, and so we do take a lot of time to make sure that this is legitimate, that these people are seriously in need,” Smith said. “What we really want to do is make sure that you never end up in this spot again, and that is the focus of our organization.”
VOLUNTEERS
The Hand Up Network is in need of volunteers, as they are also delivering groceries to those who are in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.
“Once you're in our system saying you want to volunteer, you can tell us what you want to volunteer for,” Smith said. “If we have a need, the first thing that we do is go to our database and say, okay, in this particular area, we have these volunteers that said they want to help and we engage them and let them know.”