January 17, 2023
Natalie Meyersick found her way to Texas as an Army brat with her family. When it came time to go to college, she attended Texas Tech and, after graduation, was eager to move from Lubbock and experience something new. When she visited friends in Austin in 2006, she fell in love. “It was the first place that felt like home," she remembers. "It's still an amazing place to live, and I feel lucky that I was able to experience some of that golden period of affordability."
Natalie, a massage therapist, has a flexible schedule that allows her lots of time in Austin's beautiful outdoors, hiking when she isn't working. That free time brought her to Meals on Wheels Central Texas. "I'd known about Meals on Wheels for a long time. At first, I started by subbing and picking up routes, but during the pandemic, I had to leave my house, and I committed to delivering once a week." Natalie sees the same clients on her route each week, and they have begun to exchange names and short stories as the clients get more comfortable. "As a single person with no kids, I find programs like this comforting," states Natalie. She sees that we all will need assistance at one point in our lives.
"It's all part of the bigger circle. We need more community in this remote world, and the visits are important for their mental health." Natalie is aware that sometimes, her face is the only face our clients will see all day. “I wish I could volunteer more," she says. “I want to sign up to volunteer for the PALS program too. The deliveries only take me 45 minutes a day and still give me time to talk with the people I see." Natalie emphasized, “it’s not too hard to do."