What’s Your Story?
Everyone who volunteers with EHAP has a story. Some stories are about our interactions with clients. Other stories are about accomplishments, big and small. All in an effort to help everyone in our community have the chance to rebuild their lives, navigate a rough spot or just make sure the downhearted know they matter. Here are their stories…
Randy’s Story
Harry Domke, an EHAP trustee and longtime Winter Overnight Program volunteer, shared one his most meaningful and memorable encounters with a very young client. This is how Harry told the story: Randy was in his early twenties, the same age as my older boys at the time, and this young man had just been told to leave home by a family that did not approve of his alternative lifestyle. As I was showing him around and explaining the routine, I realized Randy was staring blankly through me. He was making eye contact, but it was as if he wasn’t there. I paused and got his attention back, and then noticed his eyes welling with tears. He looked at me and simply said, “I’m scared.” At that moment Randy was one of my own children. Reaching out for help, guidance and reassurance that things would get better. I quickly did what any parent would instinctively do; I hugged him. As I embraced him tightly, Randy let out his anxiety, fear and whatever other emotions he had bottled inside him. After a minute or so, after he composed himself, I did my best to reassure him that things would get better. There were people here to help him find his way. That Joan and the volunteers would help him navigate through this hard time. That the other men in the program would watch out for him as they tend do for each other. Then one of the other men happened by, and sensing the situation, he offered to show the younger man the ropes. After a while Randy seemed in a much better place and the rest of the night went on as usual. A week or two later, when he did not show up at intake, I inquired about him and was told that he had reconciled with his family. He was back home.
Jason’s Story
When Jason came to EHAP in December 2019, he didn’t have a place to live or a job. Joan Mandel, EHAP’s executive director and lead social worker, and her small team of volunteers helped Jason, 42, get a copy of his birth certificate, find a low-cost cell phone and straighten out “lots of little matters” that made all the difference in obtaining employment and housing. He landed a maintenance position at a local church a few weeks later, but he still had to save up money for an apartment. He stayed in the Winter Overnight Program until he earned enough money to live on his own.
“I think of all the goodness I have now,” he said. “Joan was an angel.”
Jason walked into the EHAP office with nothing more than $10 in his pocket and a backpack of clothes. Now he has a bank account and a car. He said Joan never doubted he could turn his life around…and he did.