Before getting sick, Brenda Blackwell worked in customer service for a big box store. Her patience and positivity served her well when helping people, including those with bad attitudes.
“My mantra has always been to treat people the way I’d like to be treated,” she said.
Unfortunately, Brenda, who is 56, had to stop working after being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in June 2024. She shares an apartment with her adult son, and when his work hours were cut, they fell behind on rent and utility bills.
“The worst thing I could think of was going home from the hospital and having no home to go to,” she said.
When she sought help, she was not treated with the respect she always showed to her retail customers. Navigating the established safety net was “a nightmare,” she said. Her questions — Where can I get help? What services do I qualify for? — went unanswered. “One thing someone said before they hung up was, ‘Why don’t you just call United Way 211?’”
Brenda did. Her call was answered by a 211 team member named Patrick.
“To say he was kind would be an understatement,” Brenda said. “He was so empathetic. He made me feel like he wanted to help me. I could hear it in his voice. That was so different than what I had been experiencing. I just needed to ask some questions. I just needed to be able to find out where I could go (for help).”
Patrick provided phone numbers of organizations that might help with rent and utilities. “He even gave me information about emotional help. He went through everything that could possibly help me.
“It means so much when you’re in a situation like mine and you get bad news all the time or you get ‘no’ all the time or ‘we can’t do anything to help you.’ And then you talk to someone who says, ‘I don’t know if this will work, but let’s try.’ That’s so important.”
Days later, Patrick called Brenda back. “When I answered and he told me who it was, I cried a little,” Brenda said, “because that meant he cared enough to see whether the information he gave me was beneficial. That meant the world to me.
“I’ve made connections with the information he gave me,” she said. “A lot of it has panned out positively.” Being able to catch up on bills, she said, “was like a miracle.”
The other good news: Brenda said her cancer treatments seem to be working well. “I’m very blessed.”
