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Live United by Erin Haag

 

A year ago, there was a major thunderstorm. A few days later, I received a phone call from a contractor. He was hired by a landlord to take care of a home that had a tree go through the roof. He was talking with a resident who was refusing to leave the home, despite there being a tree. He had tried calling various agencies to get the gentleman help, but wasn’t getting anywhere. 

I decided to go out and see for myself. It didn’t take me long to find the residence, as the giant tree through the roof of the house was pretty obvious. There were major structural issues, concerns about mold with rain coming, concerns about the insulation that needed to be blown around and general safety concerns. 

Then there was our resident gentleman. A widower who was dealing with Stage 4 cancer, he was refusing to leave his home. His wish was to be left alone in his final days. During the conversations that we had with him, there were concerns about his financial ability to pay for alternate housing, his access to quality foods and the lack of a support network. He wasn’t friendly by any means. He was not appreciative of the contractor’s efforts to provide him with options. Nor was he willing to speak with me. 

We were at a standoff. What happened next was a circle of individuals who make up the heart of our community. I still remember vividly standing on a very hot day, in a group discussing options. What struck me the most out of that group is that everyone was very concerned with the gentleman’s wishes, his dignity and his right to self determination. Where it would be easy to view him as a problem, instead the gentleman was viewed with compassion, understanding and as an individual.

We lucked out with the Albert Lea Police Department sending out one of their officers. Sgt. Crabtree had the eagle eye to notice small things like the brand of meal replacement shakes. He had the magic touch and developed a rapport. Over the next few days, we secured the gentleman a hotel room, food to eat and connected him with other community resources such as Hospice care. 

The circle of individuals who came together to help one man all were either volunteers or serving our community through their jobs — going above and beyond their jobs, and at times working off the clock to provide a higher level of service and see this through. 

United Way of Freeborn County became command central. We coordinated meetings, paperwork and streamlined communications. My goal was to reduce the number of people he had to talk to with his very limited energy. I mentioned that he wasn’t the most friendly person. While it might be easy to dismiss him as ungrateful, and lacking respect, I don’t remember what he said to me. What’s etched into my memory is the day he came into the conference room. I brought in water and turned to leave when the gentleman stopped me. He stood there, and told me he was sorry for yelling at me. He thanked me. He couldn’t always look me directly in my eyes as he spoke, but everything about him expressed his struggle and his remorse. While I hadn’t taken offense, I fully respected and admired his determination to make things right.

I don’t know the ending of the story, but I hope he’s well, wherever he is. This has remained a defining moment of my first year. When I talk about living united and building relationships, I remember standing in a driveway with an incredible group of service providers. The role UWFC played in that situation was our mission brought to life. It was a tangible example for me to hold on to when I envisioned the direction United Way of Freeborn County needed to go. It has played a central part in my vision of the United Way of being the connector to resources. That vision is what drove us to find an accessible physical space, to invest in technology to increase access virtually, and to bring together our various agencies to meet, network and develop relationships. I hope you’ll join us in our mission, through volunteering, through donations, through sharing our story. It’s an important one. 

Erin Haag is the executive director of the United Way of Freeborn County.