A Call To Action

In the mid 1990’s, I was living in one of the larger metropolitan areas in Ohio.  I had graduated from college, was working on my master’s program, and was managing a counseling center which I co-owned with my partner.  We had put every dime we had into this start up, and we were both working second jobs to pay our bills as the business was not making enough money yet to pay ourselves regularly.  We had three little girls to feed and clothe, and a couple of pets too, so suffice it to say, money was tight.

One day I was manning the front office phones and a woman called.  The moment that I answered, I could hear the despair and panic in her voice.  She asked me if we had any programs that could fund her some money.  I inquired as to what she needed the money for.  She broke down, sobbing, and in between sobs, was able to tell me that she and her son were living in one of the drug districts of this town.  He husband was abusive, and she knew to save herself and her son, she needed to get away.  She felt if she could move back North to the town where her sister lived – that she could make a new home for herself and her son and start over.  But she had spent the day calling agency after agency, and no one could help.  No churches, no programs of any kind could she find that could or would help.

My heart was torn in two.  I told her that we did not have any programs either, but to give me one hour to check around, and I would see what I could do.  When I hung up, I called a meeting with my staff.  They all felt that there really was nothing we could do.  That it was likely the story was unreal, and that I was about to be scammed for money for drugs or alcohol.  But I felt DRIVEN TO DO SOMETHING.  So I gathered up what spare money I could come up with, and put together a plan.  I bought a back pack and filled it with food and drinks, and games for the long trip north.  And then I sat back to wait for the call.

When the woman called me back – I told her to pack her things and I would come pick them both up, and take them to the bus station.  She gave me her address, and I got ready to go.  Everyone thought I was crazy, venturing into the worst part of town, to whisk this woman and her son away – but by then, I was driven and could not be deterred.  I told everyone that I refused to be cynical.  I felt that one the biggest problem in the world is cynicism, and refusal to accept that we can and should be part of the solution.  As soon as I hit the edge of the neighborhood, I wondered myself if I had lost my mind.  As I headed for the address she had given me, people would walk out into the street to slow me down, and bang on the windows to ask for money.  I was seriously scared by the time I arrived.

The woman came right out – bag in hand and son in tow.  She jumped into the car just as a man came running out the door.  I drove away as quickly as was possible, feeling at that moment like I had fallen into a movie set.  I got to the grey hound station safely with my precious cargo, and bought the tickets to that Northern city.  I then gave her the last 10$ I had along with my business card and the backpack.  I wished her luck – gave them both a hug, and waved goodbye.

I cried many a tear that day.  Saddened that the world was such a cynical place that no one felt compelled to help anymore.  I knew deep down, that what I had done was the right thing.  A month later I got a card in the mail with a note and picture of them both.  Their sad eyes were replaced by smiling faces.  They had moved in as planned with her sister – and their new life had begun.  I cried once more, tears of joy, knowing that I had answered the call to action, and had helped to change someone’s world.

Many days when I feel cynicism creeping back into my soul, I think back on that day.  I remind myself that the drive I felt then, is just as important now.  I remind myself, even more today, than then, that we cannot all be cynical.  People can and will change if given the chance.  And listening to that call and acting, on my part (and yours), can change someone else's world - forever.