When I could, I went around to people working in the Chicago reception center and offered them water and soda. I also tried to greet children with small stuffed animals when possible. On the last day the reception center was open, a Red Cross Caseworker grabbed a stuffed toy from my stash and gave to it a little boy as he came in. My supervisor Sarah remarked that he had stolen my job. We both smiled. Sometimes mental health is sharing the contagious power of random acts of kindness.
A Caseworker raised her hand and I walked down to meet Tami, an attractive young woman from Loyola University in Louisiana who had enrolled in Loyola University in Chicago to continue her studies. She was wiping back tears and we found a spot in the hallway to talk. She was soft spoken and said she was feeling quite guilty taking the money offered to her as an evacuee. I asked her if being privileged enough to be in college was bothering her. She was not one of the people rescued off the roof of her home or trapped on the bridge of the convention center. Tami began crying, "I don't deserve this," she said, holding out her Red Cross credit card. I asked if she needed new books and school supplies. I asked if she would be working in and paying taxes in Illinois along with paying tuition. I noted she was wearing sneakers without socks and that she had some shopping to do to survive a Chicago winter. She needed assurance that the Red Cross did not discriminate between people who survived a disaster and need assistance to rebuild their lives. I told her that she was welcome to join our community to continue her education and suggested that she acknowledge this as a gift. Take the money and get yourself into school, I said, and someday when you come across someone truly in need of a helping hand, help them. Tami looked at her sneakers, smiled, and thanked me for my time. Sometimes mental health is being willing to accept a gift, being accepted for who you are, and finding a direction.
| James Boudreau had no ID, seemed a bit young for his stated age, and tried his best not to look just a little scared and alone. His address and other means we used to verify he was an evacuee checked out. He knew no one in Chicago and had reached our reception center relying upon the kindness of strangers. Caseworkers got him his disaster relief funds and then he expressed his desire to reunite with his family. He had discovered that his mother had moved in with relatives in Arkansas. We went to the phone bank, a room where people could use phones and internet free to find each other compliments of a telephone company. We tried Amtrak, but they would only take him as far as Little Rock, which wasn't close enough. He suggested Greyhound and we found a bus leaving that evening that stopped where he wanted to be. James bought a ticket and the Chicago Transit Authority gave him a ride to the bus station. We shook hands and I wished him safe travel. Sometimes mental health is going home to be with your mom. |
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One of the little folks I gave a stuffed toy to was part of a family with 5 children, herded by mom through the reception center. Andre was a skinny six year old and his ear-to-ear grin showed the recent loss of a baby tooth. He gave me an enthusiastic high five after receiving a stuffed toy at the Red Cross reception desk. I was wandering through the center an hour later and he walked up to me to talk. Andre told me he was from New Orleans and that he had named his little stuffed buddy Butch. He gave me a toothy smile and held his arms open wide. His mother nodded and I got down on my knees and we shared a good old fashioned bear hug. Sometimes mental health is unconditional acceptance and affection in a safe place. |
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As many as 750,000 people were displaced by Katrina and Rita. Many of their homes are still gone and their need for assistance will persist as they rebuild. If you have means to share with people like the ones I met in Chicago, please donate to the American Red Cross. If you are concerned about how your money will be spent, be assured that the Red Cross takes the word "volunteer" seriously. No Red Cross volunteer in the Chicago reception center received any reimbursement of any kind: all of the money donated went to people in need. |
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