Beyond the Scope of a Job Description

NJAfter3

It was 5:45 PM, program was coming to a close and everyone was wrapping up for the day. Suddenly, a parent storms through the front corridors of the school with tears in her eyes, asking to pick up her son. A sense of concern began racing through my veins as I approached and asked, “Is everything okay?!” She seemed very apprehensive and emotionally overwhelmed, mumbling, “No…”. She preceded to hand me a restraining order against her current boyfriend.

She described a domestic dispute and told me she did not feel safe at home for the evening. I escorted her to the office and called my administrators at NJCDC. We began calling local shelters in search of a safe place for this parent and child to stay for the night. During our search she began to describe how her boyfriend threatened to harm her and her son. Her description began to make us realize exactly how serious it was to find her and her son a safe place to stay. After about an hour and a half of looking, she found arrangements for the evening and took the list of contacts we collected for her. A few days later she moved into one of the facilities we recommended. Both she and her son are in a safe location outside of the reach of this unsafe man.

This experience reminded me of why I came to work at NJCDC – to make a difference – and that evening I was privileged to touch a life in a most unexpected way. As employees of NJCDC we must always be ready to serve the greater Paterson community, even if it is beyond the scope of our job description.