“The way that they talk is like you’re a real person”
“Just when you walk in to NEWS, even the way they greet you…they’ll offer you a beverage…It’s just like, I don’t know, you just feel like they are happy that you are here, and that you’re not bothering them, and everyone the way that they speak is very…I don’t know what it is. It’s just a demeanor, I guess. I feel especially contrasted with places like the welfare office or court where you really are on the defense. Like ‘What do you want? Prove it. Where are your documents?’ They’re never like that here. They’re like, ‘Okay, we can work with that. Don’t worry about it.’ I guess it’s a little thing, but it is…it’s just the way that they talk is like you’re a real person. They’re happy that you are here.”
(Woman, St. Helena, Crisis Intervention Services)