[Kenna]

Tonight while at an antique shop, I met someone that I recognized their face but just couldn't place them...after chatting a bit, they spoke up and said "I KNOW where we met before!! Didn't you used to work at the employment office?"....I responded, No, but I did volunteer there to help clients apply for other public services. But that was 3 years ago.

He was very excited that he remembered me now and thanked me for patiently spending time with him THAT ONE DAY, THREE years ago, to explain how to apply for Social Security Disability/ Medicare....he took the information back to his brother-in-law (who had been suffering with Liver failure but had been denied SSD several times, yet "had been given only 5 months to live"), and with the new information on how to apply or appeal, his doctor wrote a special letter to SSD, which got him approved. And very shortly after, he had his transplant that saved his life and is now recovering well. Being approved for SSD has not only helped him get insurance coverage through Medicare, but also gives him a monthly income again. I was very happy to hear how he is starting to enjoy his quality of life again!

The gentleman kindly thanked me again and nearly made me cry when he insisted I had made such a positive impact. He doesn't know how much that means to me.

Back when I was volunteering there, I would often think to myself "why am I doing this? My boss is going to think it's a waste of time because I'm supposed to make "300 contacts" per month, but while I'm at this location, hardly anyone needs my help."...I really did feel useless and unable to help my community. ...

Tonight this reminded me that....*You* can change the world for one person at a time.
The story he shared tonight of how his brother-in-law is healing so well and how grateful he was for my help really made my heart happy.

I surely can't "fix a broken system", as much as I had tried in my previous career, but it does my heart good to help people" navigate the system" and improve their quality of life.