There's something about summer that makes the pressure rise. Whether the electricity in their Section 8 apartment is getting shut off tomorrow, or they just got layed off from their 40K job and want to know how they can apply for rent assistance next month, the calls are twice as many and twice as strained in the heat of August. Even in my over-cooled basement
office, their voices break me into a sweat and my heart races trying to think of where I can turn them to for help. The second to worst answer I can give is "I don't know who can help you." The worst is, "there's no one who can help you." I don't ever really actually give the latter answer, although I often think it while I'm giving the former. My eyes panic as they scan my referral phone number list...is it under 'C' for "Community", or 'S' for "Services"...?