Remember I said that it seemed as if nobody at PRD wanted to
help the residents find homes? Well, FC was one of them. There was another
staff member who was always bringing in computer-printed lists of local housing
ads. She’d bring them in on her shift and would show them to those of us who
were on the grounds at the time so we could pick any ads we wanted to call. Then
she’d ask one of us to pass them along to the others. Since I was usually the
one up latest she’d ask me. I had no problem sharing the lists but it was hard
to catch up with other residents because we weren’t all around all the time.
So I’d hold on to the lists and try to pass them along to
each resident I could as we’d cross paths but there was always one or two left
out. So one day I decided to give the lists to FC and ask her to post them for
the residents to see. I told her who gave them to me and about the pass-around
request. FC looked at the lists, nodded at me, and closed the office door. The
lists were never seen again. I wonder why. My guess was that FC didn’t like
anyone offering us assistance in finding homes so she just discarded the lists.
The next time I saw the staff member who gave me the lists,
I’ll call her MG, I told her what happened with the lists and she was annoyed.
I don’t know if she ever said anything to FC about it but I do know she didn’t
like FC any more than we residents did. Even staff complained about FC to us.
MG, however, was not one who needed to be complaining about anyone. MG was
extremely funny, helpful when she could be, and always brought in movies for
the grown-ups to watch after the kids were off the floor; but she was the other
staff member that some of us dreaded.
Yes, she was friendly and funny, but she also had a habit of
being friends with some residents and gossiping about others. The ones who she
was friends with got away with breaking the rules all the time; yet she was
strict with the rest of us, but not all the time. She really blew hot and cold
and it was hard to tell her mood on any given night.
I really tended to keep to myself and mind my own business
at the shelter. If someone came to me to discuss something, whether about their
case or something personal or even about another resident, I listened, offered
advice if it was asked, and the conversation ended. Nothing anyone said to me
ever left me. There were residents there, though, who would listen to others
and then repeat what was said to whomever they felt needed to hear it,
especially the person who was discussed. I hated that. MG, even though she was
staff, would fall into the gossip-and-repeat category.
I’d sit in the common room watching TV – which she kept way
too loud even though kids, mine included, were asleep in rooms just a few feet
away – and I’d text on my phone to friends, just minding my own business. MG
would sit there with a couple of other residents, one of whom had an issue with
me a few months down the road, and they would carry on, laughing loudly,
discussing other residents and staff. I never joined their conversations and
didn’t really care what they were saying but I heard every word. They’d just
sit there talking shit about whatever resident or staff member was in the
spotlight that day, and MG would give her opinion on the topic. Staff wasn’t
supposed to do that.
If residents were talking about others and staff was privy
to the conversation they were supposed to keep it quiet, maybe write it in
their notebook, and just do their job. They weren’t supposed to interject their
opinions or get involved in the gossip. When those two residents moved out MG
found other residents to be friends with and the same crap continued. They even
got to the point where they were talking about me. How do I know? Because I was
friends with a couple of residents who would sit with MG and watch whatever she
was watching.
My friends didn’t get much involved in the conversations MG
was having with whoever else was sitting there but they did tell me that I was
the topic of conversation on more than one occasion and that MG was actually
trying to impersonate me. I didn't really give a shit but it just showed me how two-faced she could be. She'd been friendly with me earlier in the night.I had started going to the upper common room on
nights that MG was there because the TV downstairs was way too loud and I just
couldn’t take all the concentrated noise from the TV and their talking. The decibel
level drove me nuts.
So I’d sit in the upper common room and try to watch TV up
there, which was difficult at times because of the noise downstairs. That’s how
I’d see the rules being broken, though. The kitchen was upstairs and a couple
of residents would make their way up there to have midnight snacks. MG never
said a word to them. Had one of my friends or I gone in there she would have
written us up for it.
It eventually got to the point that everything came to light
in the eyes of staff that had no clue what was going on when MG was on duty and
she was transferred to another house. But that’s definitely another story for
another time because it actually involved an incident between a resident and
me. Some of the gossiping residents I’ve mentioned also tried to start shit
amongst the other residents by spreading lies and rumors. The first time they
did it to me the shit really hit the fan because I don’t take shit from anyone.
That’ll all come in time, though. For now I’ll let you rest from my long-winded
post. Enjoy your day/evening.
Until next time…peace to all.
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