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Two Black Men Made Me Feel Safe
Some of my friends wondered how I could work in such a rundown building
I had just started my new job, and during the week I felt safe in the delapidated building that housed several nonprofit agencies.
We were in an ideal location to serve our clients; next to the public housing where many of them lived and on the bus line, which meant those who weren’t within walking distance and didn’t have a car could catch public transportation to our facility.
The other agencies, a low-income daycare, and a nonprofit to assist people with housing, were in the same building. The thrift store I was hired to manage was on the far end of the building away from everything else, but I passed the food pantry and housing agency whenever I walked down the hall to use our shared bathroom.
I had a 40-minute commute from my house in the suburbs, and this job was my first venture into the work world since retiring years before to be a stay-at-home mom. But I loved it. The interaction with clients and other nonprofits, the crowded, jumbled thrift store with other people’s donated treasures arriving daily, and the hectic pace of helping over 100 families a day was exciting and rewarding.
Some of my friends wondered how I could work in such a rundown building. Our…
