Nesting
May 30, 2011 at 4:55 PM
Whether I was working as a reporter, or now as a development director for Friends of the Homeless, Inc. my job has never been dull. I say that with gratitude because one of my career goals is never to be bored. Check!
Last week I arrived at work to find a group of men outside our shelter with a different kind of emergency. They had found a baby bird which had been separated from its mother. The bird was clinging to the finger of a young man who I know to suffer with mental illness. He is big and strong and not always under control, but the bird had found his tender side. He was proud of the fact that this fragile little thing had chosen him as a surrogate. But these men know a little something about the importance of a home. The group suggested that I might take the bird home with me, assuming that my home would be more conducive to survival for this youngster than an urban campus comprised mostly of concrete.
I didn’t bite. I did not try to problem-solve or simply take charge of the situation, as I often do. Frankly I spent very little time worrying about that little bird. I was more worried about where those men would sleep that night and those after. I went about my day with its very full agenda. But something about the apparent irony of that situation obviously stuck with me for some future contemplation. The start of a holiday weekend afforded me that time.
I did not find the bird a home, but I did find myself marveling at my fellow man. These men have not yet hardened to the circumstances that would allow them to be homeless. Despite their own urgent situation, they are still capable of caring about other living things. Their request was not for themselves but for the more vulnerable in their eyes. And the best future they could imagine was having a nest to go home to.
Kathy Tobin
After almost thirty years covering the news for television affiliates in Western Massachusetts, Kathy joined Friends of the Homeless in the fall of 2009 to help raise money and the profile of the organization to fulfill its mission. As Director of Development, Kathy is available to help you understand the work we are doing and how you might contribute to end homelessness in our community.