by William Skink

As I was walking around downtown yesterday I had a couple of experiences that made me feel like I was back working at the shelter.

First, I ran into the parking meter lady I used to chat with when I was looking for a particular client downtown. She told me she tried calling the HOT line the previous day, and even asked if I was still around. Four years after leaving my position, it’s nice to know some people still remember the work I did.

A few blocks after that conversation I started to hear yelling. As I got closer I could see a heavy-set woman sitting on a sidewalk screaming. She appeared to be in her 30’s and was very agitated.

I asked the woman if she needed help. She yelled that someone needed to get her food. I told her about the Poverello Center and she said she had been kicked out. I asked her how long she has been in town. She said 3 weeks. I asked how she got here and she said she drove and was staying at the motel. I told her about other food services and she said NO, SOMEONE NEEDS TO BUY ME FOOD RIGHT NOW!

When I asked if she got a check at the beginning of the month she got more agitated and started calling me Isaac. Since this isn’t my job anymore, I decided to keep walking and let someone else deal with this woman.

While I was attempting to assess this woman’s need, a former client recognized me and said hello. He was looking much healthier and was with his family. It was a nice reminder that people do get help and sometimes they even get better and reintegrate as functioning members of society.

I would like to write more, but WordPress has some new format that I’m not familiar with, so I’m going to l leave it here for now before I accidentally erase another post.

Have a great weekend!