Now it so happened that one of our staff, Eileen Anderson, who manages the Dietary department, and her son, Jeff, who also works in Dietary, were long-time friends with Tom.
- Eileen had been bringing clients with no families to her home for the holidays for years. She had gotten close to a number of clients, including Tom. Jeff was also close to Tom’s guardian – they went to many basketball games with Tom.
- As the day of demolition approached, Jeff said to Eileen: “Mom, you have to do something! Where is Tom going to live?”
- Eileen says “When there’s a problem, mothers always have to fix it.”
- What no one at Laura Baker knew was that Eileen had long wanted to have Tom live in her home.
- LBSA provides several options for living arrangements: we have 30 clients on the Oak St. campus, and at the time had four supported living service homes in the greater Northfield community. We also provide semi-independent living services to those who need only a few hours of support a week.
- Eileen was almost afraid to have her dream come true. She wasn’t sure if she was qualified enough, or had enough experience or training. What if Laura Baker said no? When she approached the director for the program, she was met with relief and enthusiasm. With some training, she was an ideal candidate for an adult foster care home, a new program for LBSA.
- She had an idea, but it involved disrupting her husband’s space in the house. “ I had to ask him if we could move his office downstairs so we could use it as a bedroom. I wasn’t sure how he would feel about that, but he said, “It’s a wonderful idea – your dream is going to come true.”
- Next, Jeff and Eileen visited Tom in his room, asking if he would consider moving in with them. His answer was: “ Nope – I’m staying here!” Jeff tried to persuade him, saying, “This place is junk, Tom!” He hit the wall for emphasis. “Nothing more than junk that’s going to get torn down! But Tom remained adamant.
- Later that week, the director again asked Tom where he would like to live. Tom said, out of the blue, “With Eileen and Jeff.”
- Tom moved in, making it a happy ending. Eileen says, “ I’ve always wanted to do this. Tom and Jeff have become buddies. Tom vacuums and even tries to make breakfast for people. He’s glad to be able to continue working in the LB kitchen. He’s just a part of the family now. I don’t see myself as a foster care provider- we are one family.”
- Eileen’s husband passed away recently. Social Services called her, said, “We can help you – we can take Tom for respite care, giving you time by yourself.”
- Eileen said, “Nothing doing! We’re a family, we all have to grieve together.”
You might think that Tom is the fortunate person in this little story, the one who was weak, hurting, and needing help – the lucky person with a serious problem that was solved with a happy outcome. You might be right about that.
But Eileen will tell you, forcefully, that Tom, Jeff and she are all the fortunate ones. She will say it again: “We’re a family.”
