How do you show kindness throughout the day? Since Sunday was National Day of Kindness, here at HOME, Inc. we look at how we work to continue kindness in our communities, as well as here within our office. For this blog post, we are conversing with staff here at HOME, Inc. to see why kindness is important to them.
I started my journey by figuring out why housing and kindness are similar by talking to our Fundraising Director, Kourtney. She said “Kindness is at the root of all non-profit work, and it is no different with affordable housing. I think that kindness can play an important role in overcoming the affordable housing crisis. For example, a landlord can show their tenant an act of kindness by being flexible or helping them out financially. People can show compassion to someone who might be in a lot of debt. Kindness also goes hand in hand with not judging people. Often times, people assume that homeless people have an alcohol/drug problem, but often times that is not the case. There are a multitude of reasons people are homeless and it is not our place to judge. Some even think certain people do not deserve housing which is completely false. We all deserve safe, affordable housing.”
Following, I talked to our beloved Executive Director, Pam. She commented “When you call HOME, Inc. you get a kind and caring person who will listen and hear your situation. Listening to what is going on with a situation and hearing what people have to say is so important. Once the listening is done is when you can work to solve the problem. That is why we are here. To be kind, to listen, and to help solve a problem.”
To finish off our question of kindness, our HOPE for Stable Families counselor, Tia, gave her take on the subject. “Kindness is essential to the jobs that we do here at HOME Inc. We understand and respect that every individual is unique and have their own situations. We are a non judgement zone. We are genuinely wanting to help people reach their goals and overcome their barriers. By providing consistent and kind services, we are able to build rapport and trust within clients. Sometimes clients just need someone to vent to or work out their situations with and that is what we are here for. I show kindness by following up with families regularly and letting them know that I am here to support them no matter what the situation is. I try my best to find a solution or resource to any barriers that they may face. Many families do not have family in the area or have a lack of support, it feels great to be that other person that can be there to help!”