Trish Smith
Interviewed in August 2016
I am the Relocation Specialist. That’s what they call me. My role was to assist the Property Manager, Kathy Leahy, and to Identify housing for the folks that live here [at Northampton Lodging].
You’ve also been helping them get organized and move into their new spaces. Right?
Well, yeah. It’s a process. It’s about interviewing people and getting to know them as individuals. I’m looking at each situation as being unique, which it is, meaning the individual is unique, not so much this situation because everyone had in common the fact that they had to relocate out of this facility.
My role was to identify housing that would give them a better quality of life and to help them organize themselves around the process and to, more importantly, accept the fact that it was a reality that they had to leave even if they were long term…or short term…but that this the demolition was going to occur whether or not they had accepted the reality of having to relocate. I just sort of hold their hand and walk them through the process and help them meet all of their needs and identify resources for them if that was needed. Whatever it would take to transition any individual, any household, I would help.
The reality is that this is home to them. This is not just a place they rent and have a room. I mean, this is home. So, in doing this kind of work, you have to keep that in mind that it’s very important to them because it really is their home and that you are really transitioning them out of a safe place.
And hopefully into another safe place.
Hopefully, yeah. But having to accept that reality [of moving) is really the difficult part.
How did you get started doing this kind of work?
I didn’t go to college for it. I was already working at HAP [Way Finders’ former name] as a Lead Paint Specialist and HAP needing someone to help them develop a program that required someone that could connect to families and transition them out of their homes when their homes were being deleaded. It wasn’t anything that anyone was really doing at that time.
What year was this?
This was in 1994… 1993.