I tried to upload pix from my phone, but alas. I’ll do a photo thing when I get home, right before Thanksgiving.
This am I ate breakfast and crashed out so hard I didn’t even hear them moving the rest of all the stuff and the cots around me, they had to shake me awake @ the end….so we could move to yet another tent. :P. However! After that, a friend told me HQ for the utility workers (whose mega tents us, and previously our clients were/are staying in) has open net, so I went there and needed out for 30 mins before dinner.
And after dinner — work! Dude. Day shift rocked it out so hard. Logistics are smoothing out. Ppl got their meds. Other ppl are realizing that we’ll come thru, and coming up with their needs. (One pt realized today all our help/meds/prescriptions are free and came in. Can u imagine needing meds so bad, but being too scared you’d be asked to pay for them after a freaking disaster that wipes you out so you don’t? It breaks my heart.) We’re also getting transportation support so that ppl can make trips home and to appts.
What’s also nice is that now I recognize ppl and they recognize me and the paperwork is mostly done so instead of asking questions, I get to do the kind of one on one personal care I like the most. We can joke, I can listen, they can talk to me and feel listened too — there’s that connection of growing trust that comes with mutual respect and giving ppl the space to feel human again. And there’s also the occasional legit medical emergency to keep us on our toes ;).
As grungy as I am (quite) and how tired I am (double quite) I would totally do this again. I wish it were shorter, BC these are really heavy situations/shifts, but I am really enjoying the work itself :D.