May 2012 – to Robin Scott from Donna Morris:
Robin, I had something really amazing happen to me recently and wanted to share it with you because of all you do for the homeless youth. You may or may not realize what an impact you are having. A couple days ago I got a message from asking if I had been a social worker in Union, MO. I was - 30 years ago. She said I had been her family's social worker, she was sad when I left, and she had wondered for years what happened to me. Then she sent the email below. I was amazed and touched. So...don't underestimate how much you are doing for those teens and how much it might matter!
You're right, it has been a very long time ago... My name was back then too. I called the hotline on my family when I was a teenager... I was literally starving to death and I just didn't know what else to do. My Dad was the kind of man who never ask for help and didn't want strangers in our family business. Anyway, my sister lived in a foster home right up the road and she had plenty of food, clothes and a safe place to sleep. I dreamed of such things. My Mom suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was off her meds and I was just terrified of her. I lived out between Union and Beaufort... off of HWY EE. I was a complete mess back then. I was putting on a tough act for everyone around me, even you. It was all an act though. I just didn't know how to behave or deal with anything in life. My Dad was furious that I call the hotline, but I just wanted someone... anyone to know if something happened to me that it was because my Mom was not herself at the time. I can remember that your visits were the highlight of my life. I pretended not to care but I loved it when you came by. I guess you were pretty much my one and only link to sanity back then. I still remember that one time you offered to take me out for a pizza, but I said no. I was not able to really eat food at that time. So it was very embarrassing to even attempt it in front of people. My nerves were shot at the time. It meant the world to me though. I really felt like someone cared. It gave me hope. I have often thought of you over the years. Especially when I think back to my childhood. I remember one time you came by the high school. I can't remember if it was to see me... I think it was... but anyway, you came by and talked with me for a while. It was very nice to see a friendly face. I was not too popular at school, with no clothes to speak of and thin as a board, and weird as the day was long. I felt like my entire life was a huge secret. I had lost all of my friends because I didn't know how to explain my Mom's illness. So I retreated from life. After you left a girl names Wanda came up and told me that you were her social worker too. One Thanksgiving you brought a basket of food out to our house and I was so thankful. I don't think I ever told you how much I appreciated that! So did my brother George. Then that Christmas you brought my a shirt that said "Classy Lady" on it and more food. Plus some games... Tiddly Winks and Chinese Checkers. Those games were something that George and me played all the time! They got us through some really rough days. Those were the first Christmas presents that we got in years and it made my Christmas! So thank you for thinking of me. I can remember one time you came over and my Mom was being herself screaming and acting like a possessed person. Yelling at you and threatening you. I felt so bad for you. Eventually she attacked my sister-in-law Melody with a butchers knife, and I had to run to the neighbors house to call the sheriffs department.
After that my Dad was forced to get my Mom some help. Things got better after that. My Mom was never the same woman that she was prior to stopping her meds but she was at least not a danger to herself or others anymore. To this day I do not understand why my Dad never got my Mom help... but I know one thing... I thank God for you and all those that do the job that you did. It can't be easy! I just wanted to say thank you for all your help when I was a child. It made a difference in my life. It gave me something to look forward to and our talks made me think about my future. Even though at the time it felt like I had no future. I know you were just doing you job, but I always felt like you cared. It meant the world to me then and still does now.
I know I wrote a lot but I just have wanted to tell you for so long how much your visits meant and how much it helped me through a really rough time in my life. I am sure back then that I was not able to say how I felt. I felt that I had to pretend that nothing mattered or bothered me. It took me a lot of years to tear down all those walls that I built up. I always hoped that you knew what an effect you had in my life. Well I will stop rattling on now. :0)
