Making laughter in dark places...
The other day at work I met Percy, he needed his birth certificate to get an ID but had never been to see us before, so I'm doing an intake interview.... a long list of questions requiring a yes or no answer... I'm running down the list rather quickly so we can get to the meat and potatoes of ordering his birth certificate.
The following convo ensues rapid fire like:
Me: ever been convicted of dui?
Percy: no
m: ever been treated for chemical dependency?
p: no
m: ever been treated for mental illness?
p: no
m: ever been in jail or prison?
p: no
m: any income sources?
p: no
m: do you have a social security card?
p: no
m: Is your name Percy?
p: YES!!! BAAAHAHAHAHAAA YES IT IS!
Made him laugh.. we were rolling...
To see him smile freely made me wonder how often he has the occasion to do that on the streets? I had a client the other day say it was so nice in the Chaplain's office... I turned around and said.. 'Thank you, I think it should be don't you?' We have candles that smell lovely, Bibles, humor (huh Percy?), smiles, kind words, and the eventual ticket off the street (ID). people should feel warm and fuzzy and safe enough for a belly laugh in the Chaplain's office. .... She smiled and plucked a candy bar from the basket and agreed. :)
www.azhomeless.org
The other day at work I met Percy, he needed his birth certificate to get an ID but had never been to see us before, so I'm doing an intake interview.... a long list of questions requiring a yes or no answer... I'm running down the list rather quickly so we can get to the meat and potatoes of ordering his birth certificate.
The following convo ensues rapid fire like:
Me: ever been convicted of dui?
Percy: no
m: ever been treated for chemical dependency?
p: no
m: ever been treated for mental illness?
p: no
m: ever been in jail or prison?
p: no
m: any income sources?
p: no
m: do you have a social security card?
p: no
m: Is your name Percy?
p: YES!!! BAAAHAHAHAHAAA YES IT IS!
Made him laugh.. we were rolling...
To see him smile freely made me wonder how often he has the occasion to do that on the streets? I had a client the other day say it was so nice in the Chaplain's office... I turned around and said.. 'Thank you, I think it should be don't you?' We have candles that smell lovely, Bibles, humor (huh Percy?), smiles, kind words, and the eventual ticket off the street (ID). people should feel warm and fuzzy and safe enough for a belly laugh in the Chaplain's office. .... She smiled and plucked a candy bar from the basket and agreed. :)
www.azhomeless.org
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