The Glory of Working on the Crisis Unit

Friday was a miraculous day on the crisis unit. I came in and first shift updated me on some of the madness on shift. We had a client who lost a loved one, an 8 year old child. We had to find some way to get him home for the funeral, a 22 hour bus ride home. That’s several hundred dollars. The shift before me wasn’t able to make it happen. But I persevere. I am annoyingly tenacious. I think I’ve said this before. I don’t like accepting defeat. So, I took over trying to find charities willing to donate the $200 ticket.

I called and called and called places. Finally, I managed to get in contact with a charity. They couldn’t help through the charity but the owner decided to donate half the funds personally, anonymously. So, I’m sworn to secrecy about his identity. The last half of the funds came from another anonymous donor. She was someone in my personal network. We were even able to get him some additional money for food on the road. It was a definite win.

Saturday was a difficult day. We did a group on anxiety and negative cognitions. And thought spirals. I’ve never shared with my clients that I also suffer with depression and anxiety but I shared with this group. 8 clients. They were all struggling so much with the thought spiral that leads to, “I’m never getting better.” And it hurt me, a lot. So, even though I’m not done with my healing journey, I shared that I’ve been depressed and anxious. That I’ve done the medication dance, that I’ve been through med after med after med. That I’ve been through therapist after therapist. That it takes time but there is hope. I bond with each group of clients, each week, but this group really tugged my heart strings.

I had another client, whom we were trying to find a transitional home for on Sunday and Monday. I did everything I could. I called about 22 places. None would offer her a bed because she was “currently safe”; nevermind that we had to discharge her and that her discharge date had already come and gone. I wanted to fix this, the way I found an answer to the ticket problem. But this one wasn’t mine to solve.

I had to let go. I had to turn it over to the other mental health professional, let her call the places again with new knowledge. She was able to get a bed for our client. I’m so glad to work with a group of people who are equally dedicated to helping our clients stay safe and clean and well. I’m thankful that they keep me in the loop.