How it all started

People often ask me how I got into this line of work; honestly, it was on a whim. In 1998, I was working fulltime at a bank, when I decided I wanted to go back to college. Banking hours weren’t conducive to a full time school schedule, so I started looking for second-shift work. Sure, I could’ve put in for a transfer to the proof department downtown (they work evenings), resigning myself to verifying and completing teller transactions until my eyes bled. As enticing as it sounded, I decided to see what else was out there.

As I scanned the classifieds, I saw many ads for “direct care workers—2nd shift” so I decided I would see what it was all about. The pay seemed decent (at least in Oakland County) and the hours were right so I called and Debbie, who managed the residential care facility, asked me to come in for an interview.

When I arrived for the interview the next day, I was surprised by just how “residential” the place was. The two-story white house sat at the end of a long, curved driveway. It had large windows with green shutters and a porch that ran the length of the front of the house. As I walked to the front door, I could smell the flowering shrubs that framed the well kept lawn. “This might not be too bad,” I thought to myself.

Debbie gave me a quick tour of the classically decorated house, which ended in the kitchen. She asked me to fill out the application that was sitting on the table and excused herself because she had to return some phone calls. As I worked on the application, I could faintly hear her talking in the other room, but didn’t pay attention to what she was saying until her voice became noticeably louder.

“Yeah, Danny went after Karen with a knife again last night,” Debbie said. “Someone left the silverware cabinet unlocked again.”

I set the pen down.

“No, he didn’t stab her but he did push her down the stairs. She’s all right, just a sprain and a few bruises. If this keeps up though, someone is going to end up in the hospital or dead.”

I picked the pen back up. My intention was to complete the application but I instead scribbled “sorry” at the top of the application and hurried out the door. This almost discouraged me from going to my next interview with a different company (the company that hired me and I am still employed with to this day), but I always try something twice before I decide I don’t like it.