Usually, I feel really good about my
job. I'm all like “YEEEHAW, I'M HELPING PEOPLE THAT NEED HELP!!!!
I'M PROVIDING SOCIAL SERVICES, WOOHOOO!!!” And that's true. I
help distribute food, maintain heath, and provide housing. Good
stuff, always.
But part of my job also involves
turning people away, telling them “Hey, sorry, but we can't help
you.” And that is just the worst. Today at the clinic, our
therapist wanted to refer someone to us, because he's homeless and
doesn't have a job. Unfortunately, he also has some mental and
physical problems, which we are not equipped to handle. So I had to
turn him away. Or sometimes someone comes to the door and says “hey,
I just need a place to stay for a few days.” But that's not our
mission, so I have to turn them away. Or a family comes and needs
housing, or a single parent. Same deal. We don't have the
resources. Or someone comes to our distribution line and says “hey,
I need an extra box for another person that I'm taking home food
for,” or “hey, I have to leave soon to take my mother to a
doctor's appointment, can I jump the line?” And then I have to say
“yeah, sorry, if I let you do it, then I have to let everyone do
it, and I'm sure that your need is great, but I just can't let you do
it, sorry!”
It's just horrible, it really is. I
hate not having adequate resources, I hate having to turn someone
away, I hate wondering what will happen to them if we can't help
them, I hate wondering what I could have done differently in order to
help them, I hate enforcing our rules, and I hate not being able to
provide desperately-needed services. I feel like one of the people
in the Matthew 25 passage, turning away Jesus because I didn't
recognize him. It's frustrating.
Hi, I'm a friend of your moms (not just some crazy stranger, stalking you). This post reminds me so much of my time working as admin. assistant at a church in Newton. We had so many requests for help every month, and I was the one who talked to them and had to tell them we were out of funds, or couldn't help them for whatever reason. It was so very, very hard. There just don't seem to be enough resources, and it's kind of crazy, isn't it? I also made some incredible contacts, though, and was changed by these interactions. I noticed the even though you have to say no, people appreciated the personal contact and caring, even if you were saying you couldn't help them. Doesn't make it any easier, though! Blessings on your work!
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