Community Quotes
Helpline Hears A Who, How About You?
By Dean Lierle, Helpline Social Worker
This weekend, my 7 year-old took me to the surprisingly good movie, "Horton Hears a Who", in which Horton the elephant responds to the needs of a miniature world located within a speck of dust. Reflecting on the movie, it occurs to me that Horton, the lovable Dr. Seuss icon, is a kindred spirit of the folks who volunteer and work at Helpline House. In fact, the deceptively simple wisdom of his credo- "a person's a person, no matter how small"- pretty much sums up the operating philosophy at Helpline House for the past forty years.
The truth that Horton demonstrates is that every one of us matters. Without condescension- indeed, with great respect and reverence- Horton cherishes the precious world he perceives within a speck of dust. How much easier it would have been for him to ignore the tiny cry for help or simply brush it off as inconsequential. "Who cares" he could have said, "it's just a speck."
And armed with that label of "inconsequential speck", Horton would have been free of the trouble. Free from the worry. Free from the doubt. Free from the ridicule and hostility of those who, like many of us, rely on labels as an indispensable shorthand for understanding and navigating an overwhelming world. Horton's fellow community members instinctively understood that Horton was asking them to break the labeling habit- which they didn't like. And why not? How much more vexing the world is if we regard our fellow travelers as brothers and sisters!
But our hero Horton is blessed with faith. In spite of the evidence to the contrary, he believes that the individuals in his community- in fact, the individuals in every community- share his opinion about the value of "persons". He understands that this is what happens naturally whenever we connect with the humanity of others (i.e. when they fully become a "person" to us). We can't help but care about them. And so the success of his efforts turns on the ability of the Who's to demonstrate their "personhood". Upon succeeding in this, the community instantly comes to cherish and care for the Who's on the speck just as he does.
As a social worker at Helpline House, my caseload is full of persons and full of labels, depending on your point of view. The volunteers who are the lifeblood of our organization know full well both sides of that coin, yet they choose to connect with the persons we serve. Like Horton, they choose to hear the cry for help and tend to it. It's no small thing. Last week, we cared for some very unsavory labels- criminals, alcoholics, abusers, homeless, mentally ill, drug addicted, unemployed, senile, etc. It can be frightening and disturbing when you think about it that way.
But our volunteers, staff and donors don't think about it that way. They are Horton's. They look at the 440 client households we served in February and they see persons like themselves, but who needed some extra care last month. They served a family struggling to adapt after mom was imprisoned on a drug charge. They served an elderly woman sleeping in a van in a well-lit parking lot (for safety). They served many individuals, couples and families who couldn't afford food. They witnessed a young woman trying to come to grips with what it means to be diagnosed with a serious mental illness, and they assisted an adult son come home to Bainbridge to care for his elderly mother whose home was so totally chaotic that it may require several 30 foot dumpsters to clean up the mess. They served those persons rather than the labels, because that's what is real and what makes it possible for them to care for those persons.
We serve real people who need extra care right now. They have names and feelings and they live real lives right here on Bainbridge Island. We help them because they are important and because we are blessed to have a surplus of Horton's among us and a special place called Helpline House where those good persons can do their thing. It is my privilege to live and work in this place with these people. Thank you.