I realized today that i have not given you all a very cohesive idea of what my day to day life is like in NOLA. So here it goes.
My alarm goes off at 6:01 (sounds better than 6:00am). I have the house to myself for the most part in the morning because my work starts the earliest. I am able to take my time and enjoy the morning, which is really important to me. I am waiting for Anne outside by 6:40 with my bike. We ride to the Harry Tompson Center and get there at about 7:15. If we take the bus we catch it at 6:50 and get to HTC around 7:20.
If i am working the showers i have to set up the shower area. We have a table with deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, powder, fabreez and q-tips, for communal us. These items are hot commodities and tend to walk away if I am not keeping an eye on them. When they do grow legs i make a very loud announcement that they are missing and most of the time someone comes from around the corner with it in their hands and a 'i got caught' face or they magically appear a few minutes later. All 10 of the showers will have been cleaned the night before so all i have to do is open the doors and set a towel in each room. I have a small table that i sit at and manage the sign in sheet. Then there are paper towels to be put out, shaving cream to refill, soap dispensers to check, chairs to set up, fans to turn on, and other various tasks. From 8:00am to 12:30pm the showers are open and busy. Today 104 showers were used: that is 104 towels, 104 washcloths, and 104 times the showers need to be sprayed down. After someone is done in the shower they leave their dirty towels in bins outside the rooms and i go in with new towels and a bottle of bleach/water to quickly spray down the handle, walls, and floors. Its not necessarily the cleanest way to wash a shower but its the fastest and its better than nothing. I am also in charge of any toiletry needs: from feminine products, to razors, toothbrushes, mending kits and just about anything else you can think of. Everyone gets about 15 min in the shower until i come around and knock on their door. I have a continuing list that never really seems to stop growing until about 11:30. I call names to fill the showers, wait for everyone to finish, clean out the used showers, and call more names. Its a busy job that keeps you on your toes but i enjoy it!
If i am working laundry my day starts with finishing the folding from the dryers that stayed on overnight. Then i go out side to the front where a line has already formed of people who want their laundry done. It is not a first come first serve basis because we would not know who got there at 4am and who got there at 5am. Instead everyone who wants a chance to get their laundry done comes before 7:45 and is put into a lottery. At 7:45 i pick the first 7 names from the lottery and we start the loads. I take an intake of every ones loads then figure out who's can be put with who's to make the washers full. The best case is when you can double up on two of the washers and get three people into the other one. But sometimes you get loads that are too big which means you probably will not be able to do as many peoples laundry (but just as many loads will go threw as the day before). Each washer and dryer is run 3 times with guests cloths, then about about 3 or 4 times with towels from the days showers. The dryers take the longest so sometimes the guests cloths are not done until after lunch but most of the time they are there till after lunch anyways. I am also responsible for any clothing needs. We do not really have many cloths to give out but we are asked all the time if we have anything so we give it out when we can. Socks and under where are very hot items. We only give out socks on Wednesdays because there are so many people asking all of the time. We run out very quickly and since the cooler months are coming we have to be careful how many we give out. For the most part we keep them to replace ones that we see in the wash that are so terrible and old that they can not be worn any more. Its a nice surprise when the guest who's old socks are thrown out sees the new pair in their basket :) The laundry room is a small room that gets very hot when all three dryers are running at the same time, and there is a constant knocking on the door from people who have more questions than you knew were possible to ask. Are my cloths done yet? Can i get some socks? I need new under where. Where are some pants? Do you have any detergent i can have? Why did you not do my laundry today? When will you pick my number from the lottery? How much longer? ... Sometimes im pretty sure im working with 2 year olds asking my "why? why? why?" rather than adults, haha. Its a bit of a dungeon sometimes because it is hot and you have to be a mean old troll, constantly saying no, but its an important service we proved and the majority of the time people are very greatful.
If i am working the phones i have a totally different type of job. The phones are open almost all day. There are 4 phones that get rotated like the showers, every 20 min. Not too many people ask throughout the day and for the most part everyone is willing to wait. There is not much to it and most days an outside volunteer comes in to work and we give them phone duty because it is the easiest and fastest to learn. When that happens i become a floater. A mini Emily of sorts. Emily, Don, and Sister Mags are alllll knowing! Anne, Ellie and I are slowly becoming more knowledgeable about services that we provide and the service around the city. Most of the time when people are looking for Emily its to ask her to charge their phone (her room is a web of phone chargers and cords), find an address, look up a phone number, or find something they need in the center. I can do that, so i help them out. I have done a lot of googleing and can find the answer to just about any question they come up with. The HTC provides showers, phones, laundry, legal aid, notary services, medical services, hygiene kits, restrooms, and veterans info. Doctors come in on some days, lawyers on others, and the rest of the stuff is handled by the full time staff (us). The Lantern Light Sisters are the group of Nuns who are in charge of birth certificates, ID assistance, lunch, prescriptions help, mail, emerging financial assistance, groceries for area residents, food stamps, and resume help. The Harry Tompson Center and the Lantern Light, together, make up the Rebuild Center. The whole Rebuild Center was built in 2007 (im pretty sure) and is in the back parking lot of a church and, surrounded by the local hospitals. If you cannot find something that you need here more than likely someone in the Rebuild Center will know were to send you! Its amazing how even bad news can make a person happy here. There are so many people who send you one way and then another, then back the other way, until you have been sent all over the city and you are more frustrated and confused than you were originally. At the Rebuild Center we have answers, even if they are not very happy, we will know what to do with what ever you may need.
I am becoming professional in many different things but mostly in how to be a good listener. There are services that you can provide for people but most of the time they just need a patient, listening ear. People love to talk if you give them the chance and there is a lot that people have to say.
Oh and you always have to find humor in your job!
(After seeing the picture of us with baskets on our heads as well, Don said that this was why he hired us)
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