Thank You! Signed, the Formerly Homeless

by Dominic Mapstone · 2010-07-15 08:09:00 UTC
Topics:

From time to time someone I worked with in my capacity as a social worker calls to let me know how they are doing and to have a chat. The best calls are the ones that come out of the blue from formerly homeless people I haven't heard from in some years.

Believe it or not, some people just call up or drop in to catch up and say thanks for providing the support when they needed it.

I can only speak for myself but I have to say, I love hearing from people after they have moved beyond homeless life.

There aren't a lot of positives in the grind of life on the streets, or the climb out of that life. I've found that the burn-out rate for many people working in front line service provision with homeless people is around two years. This tells you that the positives of the job are also far and few between.

So it makes my month when a formerly homeless person who I helped out takes the time to call me (it could be years later) and let me know how he's doing and in some cases to say thanks for being there for him when he needed me.

If you are formerly homeless: who in that time in your life would you take the time to get in touch with to say thanks and let them know how you are doing today?

Typically the hardest part of saying thanks is tracking down those who helped you, since over time they often change jobs from one service provider to another and frequently they move out of the sector completely.

We all know there are plenty of workers in the system whom we have no intention of thanking or having any further contact with, but the good workers or volunteers — take the time if you can to get in touch with those who do a great job and just let them know you appreciate their way of working for you. It could be the motivation they need to help someone else.

Photo credit: Iain Farrell

Dominic Mapstone is the director of Rebeccas Community, an Australian non-profit, and admin at the International Homeless Forum.
PREVIOUS STORY:
"Death Tax" Dead, But Don't Send Flowers
NEXT STORY:
Sallie Mae Blinks!

COMMENTS (1)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.