Twenty-Nine
NOVEMBER-19 YEARS OLD
I pick up the phone, as I’ve done many times, and prepare myself for the next person. Working at the Center is like that. It is hard to move on from one person to another, but you know your feelings about it are far less important than being there for them. I remind myself often of that movie when I was young, about the boy who committed suicide, it isn’t and shouldn’t be about me, it’s about them.
“Louisiana Crisis Center, this is Kelly.”
“Do you believe in God?” a deep voice asks me.
“I do,” I said honestly.
“Do you think he knows who you are?”
“I hope so.” Again, honesty is the key. That’s the first rule: be honest. People who are hurting need you to be real with them, “But I am here and you are not alone.”
“No. I’m not alone. I have so many peo
