I was today years old when I learned about the existence of an outfit named HERO – the Housing Emergency Relief Organization of Waynesboro – which has the aim of working to get ahead of homelessness by helping residents through temporary financial emergencies before a setback becomes a housing crisis.
HERO has provided more than $275,000 to more than 830 households in the Waynesboro community over the past three years.
The money has to come from somewhere.
The somewhere: churches, organizations and individuals.
People like you, reading this.
“We’re putting in the hours, the effort and the love,” said Sarah Mendonca, the president of the nonprofit since its inception in 2023.
The hours, effort and love, also important, of course.
It strikes me that Mendonca and most of the rest of the membership of HERO are relative newcomers to the Waynesboro community.
Some fromheres like to think that the comeheres bring with them an attitude that things were better where they came from, and the first thing they do when they get here is try to fix what’s wrong.
Like that’s a bad thing, right?
HERO is an entity that would obviously not exist if not for people coming here, seeing the issues that we have with a lack of affordable housing, which snowball into myriad other issues, and saying, We need to do something.
The nonprofit, according to its founders, got its genesis out of conversations with a similarly constituted organization in a neighboring community that was routinely receiving requests from Waynesboro residents it could not serve.
Local church leaders came together to better understand the growing need and consider how to respond.
Their work led to the development of an organization with a distinct mission: to help when an unexpected circumstance makes it difficult for someone to meet an otherwise manageable obligation, rather than provide ongoing assistance with expenses a household cannot afford month after month.
HERO’s application process is designed to be accessible to residents and flexible for its volunteers. Applications can be submitted online at any time. Volunteers review applications, work directly with applicants to understand their circumstances, and, when assistance is approved, pay landlords or utility companies directly. Residents may receive assistance once every 12 months.
The support HERO receives from area churches, organizations, grants and individuals has made it possible to assist hundreds of households, but it needs, in particular, to grow its base of individual donors.
Winter typically brings HERO its greatest number of requests for assistance, and the organization anticipates providing significant assistance over the next few months.
Consistent community giving helps ensure resources are available when the next neighbor needs help.
“We never want to turn someone away because we’ve run out of money,” Mendonca said.
To learn more about HERO or make a contribution, visit herowaynesboro.org.
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Chris Graham
