crisis season

When I was applying for this job as a PA, I stated that one of the reasons that I wanted to leave my job at GW and have this job is that I wanted to be help clients/customers out with all aspects of their life, not just their work skills. Well, I've got what I wished for.

I've spent the last month helping one of my more quiet customers with a crisis situation. Until yesterday afternoon, I thought it was all handled. There was a bureaucratic speed-bump or two but I thought we were in the clear. On Thursday, my new thing was supposed to be working a short day and spending the rest of the day with my new laptop. However, after I picked up the laptop and brought it home over my lunch break, my supervisor called me back into the office. Without going into details, my customer was facing homelessness because of an interpretation of wording in state guidelines. I worked quick and reserved a motel room with the company card for the customer and made a plan for a home transition the next morning. I didn't get out of the office until 6:15 which never ever happens.

Today, before I finished parking my car at work, I got a text from my supervisor to call the regional crisis person ASAP. It turns out that the med orders for my customer weren't up to code for the home we were looking into so I ended up getting on a first name basis with two different receptionists at the hospital as I sent and resent the doctor's note, trying to get everything fixed. My final problem ended up being our fax machine. I cannot believe that we still have to use these damn things. Finally, two hours after our home transfer meeting was supposed to start, I got everything lined up and we were good to go.

I won't lie. It's taken a hard toll on me. I knew that I could do it but I question the fucked-up system that makes it so hard. I know there are rules in place but I was seriously considering bringing my client back to stay in my spare bedroom because I was not going to allow my client to stay in a shelter just due to some unclear guidelines and murky med orders. Yesterday, I finished work at 6:15 and stayed in the office for an extra five minutes looking through Craigslist job ads. This is a pretty manageable job most of the time but then there are times where you realize that you have real lives that are significantly impacted by your work but it's not all hard times. After I got my customer's paperwork squared away at the house, my customer was so happy with the new place. It was a safe and friendly home which is something that my customer hasn't known for a bit. It sounds cheesy but the joy I saw on my customer's face made it all worth it.

Last year, I had my first customer transfer off my caseload and into an emergency home due to health issues right around Thanksgiving. It was the first time that the customer was ever taken care of. The hoe had a TV, a warm bed, a full fridge, and people with a sincere interest in the customer's well-being. That customer passed away after a few months but at least I know that when I was allowed to take full advantage of the state's resources, I was able to make their last few months comfortable. 

I hope that these issues don't come up more than once a year because I can't take the stress of it all but I think that I did better this time around and next year, if it happens again, I'll know a bit more and it won't be quite as stressful. At GW, I did feel that I was making a difference in the client's but at this job, I feel that I'm able to help give them a different and better life all together.

What else?

I can't tell you what the new things this last week have been. I do know I've done a new thing every day tho. On Saturday, one thing of note is that Andrew and I saw 'Room,' I have never cried so much in a movie and I can't recommend it enough. The acting, the story, the cinematography, everything was just perfect with it.