Going the Extra Mile
Monday, October 21, 2013, found Plymouth State University’s Dr. Kathleen Norris staffing The Bridge House phones, enabling Bridge House staff to attend the annual NH Conference on Homelessness in Concord. To accommodate a meeting with her High Five Cohort grad students, Kathleen changed the location from PSU to the shelter.
At about 3pm Michelle Diamond, one of the students, answered The Bridge House phone. An emotional woman on the other end was desperately seeking shelter for herself and her one-year-old daughter. Michelle noted all the pertinent information and asked, “where you right now?” The caller said, “I’m in Irving.” Michelle asked, “are you inside or outside, and at which Irving station are you?” The distraught caller eventually made it clear that she was not at a local Irving station – she was in Irving, Texas! Michelle asked, “Do you know you called New Hampshire?” At this point the caller broke down in tears.
Michelle encouraged the caller to stay on the line and while the mom attempted to compose herself, Michelle Googled homeless shelters in Irving, Texas and proceeded to provide the family with the phone numbers of available shelters in her area. The caller was relieved and grateful.
Thank you, Michelle, for your compassionate and effective response, and for going the extra mile.
