Terrika’s Story

Terrika Walker, Attentive Residences
New Orleans, LA

I’ve made it my business to serve those who need it most, and I won’t quit. I opened my residential care business in March 2016. Since then, we’ve provided housing, meals, clothing and other essentials to up to six residents at a time. Revenue from the facility also supports our home care outreach, where we help people access medication, groceries and other basic needs. We serve the elderly, those with physical and mental health issues, dependency issues and those experiencing homelessness. Precisely those most in need. 

That’s why it’s so disheartening to know that I am just one of tens of thousands of small business owners who work with the thinnest of margins but who were left out of the federal relief packages that were supposed to help everyone. 

I didn’t start my business to become rich. I started it because, as a parent of a disabled child, I know how important it is to have a helping hand. My city, New Orleans, has been through so much. I’ve seen so many lose everything they had. I wanted to contribute to building up my community. 

Even having faced so much already, the Covid-19 pandemic has hit my business and my clients hard. To comply with public health measures—which we fully support—our facility needs to undergo two complete sanitizations per month. This costs $3,600, almost the entire revenue I would earn from six full-time residents. Because of these added costs, we’ve been forced to close and lay off our five employees. In the midst of a public health and economic crisis, our city’s neediest have lost one more resource. Where will these people turn?

I did everything I could to keep us open. I applied for the Paycheck Protection Program through my bank in mid-May. When by the end of June I hadn’t heard anything, I emailed, called and visited my branch. The bank told me that my application was submitted too late and that no more funds were available. I pushed back, saying I had submitted my application weeks prior, but I was told there was nothing that could be done. Even after I was rejected I heard of others receiving help through the program. How could this be? I’d still like to know. 

What I can say for sure is that I haven’t abandoned my dream of running one of the best residential care facilities in Louisiana. If support won’t come my way, I’ll self-finance like I always have, even if that means tapping into my retirement account. This is what I’ve been called to do, and now is the time to step up and show out for our community. I just hope our representatives in Washington will follow the example we are setting and ensure we get the help we need to continue to help others.