When the coronavirus struck the five boroughs, Mark and Heriberto, adults who struggle with intellectual and developmental disabilities, had no idea what to do.
Mark, 59, and Heriberto, 50, live independently in supportive housing and did not understand why so many people were dying when they watched TV. Their limitations left them grappling with social distancing and how to wear protective equipment like masks and gloves, and why they were even important.
Jannette Pinilla, who’s spent the last eight years providing daily care for them through her role as a direct support professional with non-profit Rising Ground, had the option to work from home and cancel her daily visits with the men but she knew she couldn’t do that.
“When this pandemic hit, my family automatically told me, ‘No, don’t go because you’ll put yourself and you’ll put us at risk,’” Pinilla, who shares her Harlem home with her 38-year-old daughter, 17-year-old niece, 40-year-old brother and 5-year-old grandson, told The Post.
“I said ‘They need me’ … I can’t see myself not being there for them.”
So Pinilla donned a mask and gloves, hopped on the train and never stopped making the 50-minute commute to Mark and Heriberto’s East Bronx apartment so she can guide them through the pandemic.
“I’m preparing them, explaining to them everyday … how to clean their mask … having them wear gloves, explaining to them why they have to wear the mask and gloves everyday, explaining to them about how to keep social distancing, showing them the distance they have to keep between them and someone else,” explained Pinilla, who has to break down the pandemic how-to’s each day she sees them.
“At the beginning, they got scared. So that’s why I had to sit down and explain to them that it’s not only you that’s going through this, everybody in the United States, it’s the same.”
Those lessons were of particular importance for Mark, who’s an essential worker at a local Stop & Shop where he’s worked for 10 years. Pinilla equipped him with hand sanitizer, a mask and gloves so he could safely do his job and taught him how to frequently wash his hands and make sure he cleaned his mask when he got home so it’d be ready for him the next day.
When she’s not with Mark and Heriberto, she visits another client, Ilene, who’s regular home health aide no longer works with her. Even though it’s not part of her regular duties, Pinilla goes grocery shopping for Ilene and visits with her for a few hours to help make the woman’s loneliness a little easier to bear.
Pinilla also does her usual duties with Mark and Heriberto: she cooks 14 meals a week for them, lunch and dinner, takes them to the supermarket, laundromat, assists with doctor’s appointments and provides companionship. Her work is funded through the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
They play games, dance together, and once a week, Pinilla dips into her own pocket and treats them to a special takeout meal — whether it be pizza, hamburgers or whatever the two men desire.
During their regular grocery-store runs, Pinilla creates a “game” out of it to make navigating the new normal a little easier.
“It’s scary for them. I can tell when something is bothering them, so I make a game out of waiting a long time on a supermarket line so they don’t panic,” Pinilla said.
“The one who keeps their distance gets a prize, and the prize is $5 they get to spend whatever way they want to spend it,” explained Pinilla, who uses her own money for the prize.
The only family Mark has is an elderly aunt who lives in North Carolina and Heriberto has a sister Pinilla has never met in eight years and a brother she’s only seen twice.
“Without me, it would be a totally different story, because who would help them?” said Pinilla, who often brings the two men to her home for holidays.
“If they didn’t have me, they wouldn’t be able to do everything for themselves because they need help … It would be different if they were able to do everything for themself like cooking but the real cooking, I do it, so if I’m not there to do it, they will starve.
“It’s not an easy job but I want to do it. You have to have it in you. I’ve always worked in caregiving. It’s what I do.”
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