25 percent my effort, so the balance of power and control is on their side. This can do wonders for someone's personal dignity and to begin to restore their feeling of control and worth. No one has to win and no one has to lose in my relationship with my clients."

April 2004

DOG RESCUER: "Even animals have a deep personal dignity. Some cannot bear to be laughed at or teased. The look in their eyes is one of pure humiliation. Most of the time, when I meet them, I have no idea what their life experiences have been. They cannot tell me. They end up in my care hurt, hungry, lost and lonely. Besides taking care of their bodies and psyches, I protect their dignity. Should humans be treated with even less care?"
In looking back now at my experience at the food pantry, I believe they were trying to give me some semblance of control by letting me pick out my own food. Because I was already feeling humiliated, they could not mitigate the effects of the last two years of my life. But I think they really tried not, to add to my burdens; and we can only hope for more of this kind of provider and people like the ones I interviewed for this piece. 1 know from personal contact with them all that that they are the real deal; and I hope they will train more to be just like them.