A Surprisingly Gratifying Day.....

My work day started out like any other at my building. We've been way behind lately; we've been barley getting the major things accomplished. Needless to say, things have been stressful at the office. All move in's on the subsidized side of our building have come to a screeching hault due to major computer/rent roll issues that have taken us days to try and fix. This of course isn't easy to explain to applicants anxiously awaiting a place to call home.

Despite being able to print out the proper paperwork, we collectively decided to move a few people in yesterday. Today, one of the women came down to our office to ask a question. We have been making extra efforts with this particular woman because she speaks/comprehends very little English; she is an older lady from the Ukraine and works here as a seamstress. She has a friend who has been able to call in to us on speaker phone and my co-worker has used her as an unofficial translator. It defiantly made a huge difference. Her question or concern that she tried to relay to me today caught me off guard. She seemed surprised to find out her apartment did not come furnished. I tried to come up with a way to give directions to a furniture store, and made sure she knew how to take a bus. She understood me when I said "This is the fun part, you get to go shop!" But she looked so disappointed and said simply "No money."

She left and my co-workers and I prepared for a move-OUT. It was actually family members moving out a relative who needed to be moved to an assisted living facility. They came down and said they really are just planning to open up the apartment one day during the week and let other residents come to take what they want. We immediately thought to ask if this woman could have first pick of the free loot; they loved that idea!

This afternoon, I took this lady up to the apartment this family was trying to pack-up for their Dad. They just started pointing to some furniture objects and she kept saying "yes! nice!" and she was very excited! They pointed to things like a recliner, a tv stand, a lamp, and a table. But, she seemed most excited about a twin sized mattress and box spring. The two of us took only what we could manage to carry down to her apartment. She had nothing but a few framed pictures of relatives from back home. I told her I would come back later once the other family was ready for us to take the larger stuff. A co-worker helped me move the table and the bed for her before we left for the day. She told us this would be a much better night and she showed us the spot on the floor she slept on last night. Before we left, she hugged us with tears in her eyes and kissed me on my neck, twice. Then, she gave us each a gift....a hand-painted spoon from the Ukraine.

Tonight, she will sleep on someone else's bed they used for years with stains and holes, without sheets. And, she's extremely grateful. So grateful, she gave us each something she left home with. It made me feel great today which I really wasn't expecting. I am excited for tomorrow when we can maybe get her some more items for her apartment.