Over and over, clients of Hope Supply Co. talk about how welcoming, understanding and helpful the staff and volunteers are. They speak of empathy and kindness. “There’s no judgment or stigma. No one makes you feel ashamed that you have needs,” said one mother. Perhaps it is this friendly reception as much as the supplies that clients appreciate most about Hope Supply Co.
Who are the people who provide such safe and comforting encounters? Meet two of them: Laura Montalvo, program manager, and Darlene Zabawa, longtime volunteer.
Laura’s primary responsibility is working with the more than 70 partner agencies that receive diapers and other items from Hope Supply Co. to pass along to families in need. However, she also regularly serves clients directly, and it is through those relationships she is able to help moms and other family members feel valued and respected.
“I am an outgoing person when I get to be around people. At home I’m shy and very reserved. Really, I’m an introvert.” With clients, though, Laura is quick to respond to what they need at the time. “I get to be what the client needs me to be. Maybe they need somebody to listen, or maybe they need somebody who is strong at that moment. Maybe they need somebody who can joke around with them because they’re having a hard time that day. I am able to be very fluid and meet them where they are.”
“What I see happen regularly,” says Barbara Johnson, CEO of Hope Supply Co., “is Laura interacting with families with ease. She is genuinely engaged with them in their situations and offers empathy without being patronizing, kindness without blaming or judging.”
Darlene adds about Laura, “I think clients feel like she is more like a sister or so close that she totally understands what they were going through.”
Families express their gratitude in many different ways for kindness expressed by Hope Supply Co. workers. One mother wrote this note:
“I offer my profound appreciation for all the support that my family has received during this entire time Hope Supply Co. has helped us out. I leave here with an immense gratitude for all the people that have supported us in this time. Thank you for everything. And I hope that in the future we get to see each other again. Many blessings to you and to everyone who is a part of the beautiful team that makes up Hope Supply Co.”
Darlene started volunteering with Hope Supply Co. in 2018 when she first moved to Dallas. “I was retired and thought, ‘How can I best use my time?’ So, I started reading mission statements of organizations, and I fell in love with Hope Supply Co.” She explains she was drawn specifically to this nonprofit because she was a single mom for about 10 years, but she recalls, “I never once gave diapers a second thought. I had a full-time job. And though we struggled, we always had what we needed. I had enough for rent; I had enough for electricity; I had enough to clothe my daughter.” When Darlene read about what homeless and at-risk families face, she was overcome with compassion. “I can’t even imagine what I would have done if I hadn’t had the job and didn’t have the money to buy those things,” she explains.
Interacting with families involves more than just handing out diapers and other essential items. It also means being aware of the emotional impact poverty has on mothers and children. It means noticing when much more is going on than simply needing diapers. One time, Darlene shares, a mother seemed particularly distraught. Picking up on this, she alerted Laura, who was able to sit down with the client, who slowly revealed an abusive environment at home. “She had come in for diapers,” Laura related, “but she obviously expected that we would understand about situations where everything a woman does is being monitored by an abuser.” Coming in for diapers was an acceptable step, but it also gave the frightened woman an opportunity to learn of other resources she needed for her safety.
Darlene says one of her greatest delights in volunteering with Hope Supply Co. is watching the little children’s responses as their moms collect diapers, wipes and, sometimes, clothes and toys. “They look at you like you are an angel because you gave their mama diapers. I mean, they would hug you. They would look at you with these happy faces and the biggest smiles. It is so special to see that the kids are learning how people care about their family and are there to help their mom. It is just great.”