It was a Thursday morning, and like most Thursdays around Patchwork it was busy from the moment our doors opened. Since it would be the last day Patchwork was open for the week, everyone was making sure to get food, showers, bike repairs, or anything else they might need before the morning ended.
As I walked into Patchwork, I thought I heard a wild splashing coming from the women’s shower. Something wasn’t quite right. A few minutes later, a woman who was new to me appeared in the doorway of the main office yelling something disjointed about the showers and shower supplies and a few other things. I couldn’t follow what she was talking about, but did understand that she was very angry, irritated, and/or frustrated.
I tried to take a moment to listen to her, clarify what was wrong, and attempt to address her concerns, but she wasn’t interested in talking to me. She left the building abruptly, stormed down the front sidewalk, crossed Washington Avenue in front of cars, and threw her belongings on the sidewalk across from Patchwork.
One of Patchwork’s regular guests stood with me as I watched the woman go.
“What’s wrong?” the woman asked.
I assumed she was asking me, but I really had no idea what was wrong, so I gave a vague answer, “I’m not sure. I guess she’s not having a very good day.”
I continued to watch to make sure the woman across the street stayed safe. The other woman watched with me.
The woman standing beside me has her own days when her conversations with our staff feel disjointed, paranoid, illogical, and angry. I thought of this when she asked again, “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure,” I said again. I still had no idea.
Then the woman beside me started saying more, and I realized that she was telling me what she thought was going on with the woman across the street. I realized that the woman next to me actually had a much clearer idea of what was going on than I ever would. The woman beside me shared some of the other woman’s experiences. I realized that I had taken her statements as questions for me to answer when, instead, I should have stopped guessing and listened.
For me, it was a reminder of some of the basic principles on which our Patchwork Hospitality is based. To listen to everyone, to consider what they have to say, and to know that their input can be even more valuable than mine.