Oh, the needs out there!

It's one of those days where I see the world through crimson-tinted glasses; that is, a quasi-social worker's awareness of all the human needs that could keep us all busy a long time. Among the people I spoke with today:

*someone in chronic pain caring for a spouse with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
*an illiterate, undocumented day laborer from another country, disappointed that I'm unable to act as his caseworker as well
*a hardworking person who can't work outside the home because his/her stroke-survivor spouse needs 24-hour care, so they're behind on bills
*a cancer patient whose best friend died very suddenly this week

These are just some of the stories that make me impatient with people who complain of boredom, or a missing sense of purpose. Volunteermatch.org, baby. Whether you like to write grants, shovel snow, design websites for charitable organizations, or visit homebound people, there's work that needs done. It's amazing what could get done by cutting out a few hours of TV watching a week.

So now I've exposed myself for the brown-haired Pollyanna I am. And here's my idea for the day: Wal-mart Co. should pay for at least five full-time social workers to serve the customers and employees at each store location, because every time I'm in that store (FOR WORK, to help people get their meds, never my own choice), I overhear people talking about overdue rent; people obviously in poor health picking up their meds; people caught shoplifting; people treating their children badly; people buying cheap plastic things that might make our children sick; people who look completely depressed or stressed out; people loitering for what looks like hours in front of the store. 10 minutes at that particular Wal-mart is more depressing for me than a whole day on the phone with some of the people in situations above. If Wal-mart stores concentrate that much misery in one place, and profit from it, they should address some of the issues people bring in.

"Welcome to Wal-mart! Can I help you access mental health care or apply for food stamps?"

And yes, systems change to eliminate some of the REASONS so many are poor, depressed, sick, lonely, etc., would be even better. I get that.