While doing my job a few days ago I get an email from an angry grandmother who wanted me to call right away. Which I did.
It seems she's upset because she drove 40 miles to visit her grandson at one of our halfway houses. But she didn't get to see him.
She wanted to talk to me because she said the manager on duty was rude. She knew her grandson was asleep in his room but that no one would go get him.
Of course the manager has his own version. He said the client had signed out and was off the property. Plus he was busy dealing with our other clients at the same time.
In any event, I listened to this nice grandmother as she told me the story more than one time. In fact, she told me what happened probably four times. And maybe a few more on top of that.
Then the day after that we communicated for maybe another half hour about the same issue. And I listened patiently as she told me the same thing again..
And I'm patient because I know the family is already suffering because of the addict in their family. They have all the hope in the world that their loved one will succeed. Yet they're still dealing with one thing after another. And what they don't need is further aggravation from us.
The frustration of being powerless to help someone we love can sometimes be overwhelming.
And that's why I listen to family members without a lot of regard as to who's right or wrong.
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