Every Tuesday, each week, we have our drop-in.
I am sure by now many of you know what that is but let me explain for those who don’t. From 10am to 3pm each week we have breakfast (continental), hair care, foot care, touch care, clothing room, chiropractic care, spiritual care, hot lunch and a food bank. We always have a lot of regular people come out to just hang out, eat, laugh and relax in a healthy environment for the day.
Yesterday was like most days; calm, loud and busy but there was one event that stood out to me. A man wearing a REDBLACKS hat approached me in the morning with a not so happy look on his face. He proceeded to tell me that he was unhappy with the system of how sign-ups for hair care worked. He was clearly upset that he was going to have to wait until next week even though he got there early to sign up. About mid-way through that conversation I said “I completely understand Joe.”
That’s it! I said his name.
I have talked to this man maybe once or twice over the past year. Instantly, his expression change, he lit up and said “you remembered my name!”
Then I proceeded to talk to him about football (the little that I know) and the hat he was wearing. It was like a switch went off. He went from frustrated to smiling. We started chatting about other things, I told him I would find out the details about sign-ups and he went and sat down, happy. I was standing there amazed at how a simple action, saying his name, completely changed the outcome of that situation. He wasn’t angry anymore and was totally understanding of the hair care procedure.
There is something about a name that is special – remembering it is a way of saying “you matter!”
– Samara, Volunteer and Events Coordinator