It was a clear, humid morning in the city of Philadelphia. The sky was a crisp blue with the only disruption of the homogeny being a beaming and oppressive sun. Margaret Hale couldn't believe how sweltering it was. It was only 7:30 in the morning but it was already 72 degrees outside. Margaret loved many things about her home town, but the oppressive heat and humidity so typical of Philly summers was not one of them. She was not one to complain, however. Walking out the door in a light blue volie shirt, black knee length pencil skirt that hugged her hips, comfortable ballet flats and shoulder length brown hair that contrasted nicely with her ivory skin, Margaret knew that there were much worse things to deal with in life than humid weather.
Margaret was on her way to the Department of Human Services (DHS) where she worked as a social worker. Margaret had been a social worker for just under a year. She studied sociology in college and wanting to put her concern for social issues and causes to practical use, Margaret decided to pursue a Masters Degree in Social Work. Margaret's career choice came as a surprise to her father and mother who were professors at the University of Pennsylvania and Bryn Mawr College respectively. Margaret loved academia as much as her parents but felt that life in academia could be isolating. She didn't want to just lecture about the injustices in the world. She wanted to correct them and actually touch the lives of people so affected by the structural inequality she learned about throughout her academic career.
Working with children who were abused, neglected and left at the mercy of a system that was understaffed and underfunded tore at her heart. Before working for DHS, Margaret's life was sheltered. She always had a passion for social justice and equality. Her work however made her realize how protected she had been and more importantly, how difficult it would be to create the egalitarian world she so longed to see. Walking to the regional rail station in Chestnut Hill, she thought once more about the children she would interact with once she got into the grey, harsh looking building that housed all the offices for DHS: children who had been denied all the basic necessities that she took for granted as a child. One family on her current case load worried her in particular.
The Bouchers were a particularly distressing case for Margaret. There were six children in the family and they were in grave danger of being taken away from their home by the state. Their mother, Heather, had become progressively more unstable. There was a history of bipolar disorder in the family and Heather Boucher was not spared. Managing her illness and six children was becoming a harder task to bear. Both Heather and her husband, John Boucher, increasingly turned to alcohol to cope. John managed to work when he could but with little education, his jobs were temporary and the pay not enough to take care of a family of eight. John was frustrated by his inability to take care of his family and alcohol had become a source of false refuge from his troubles.
Their neighbors complained to DHS of the children being disheveled when they went to school and looking malnourished. During her visit to the Bouchers, Margaret had an ominous feeling that this case would not end well. When Margaret knocked on the door, Mrs. Boucher greeted her suspiciously. Who was this petite but friendly looking woman dressed rather nicely in a cotton knee length dress? While Margaret looked friendly, Mrs. Boucher knew that this was an unwelcome visit and she perceived Margaret as an intruder on her home. "Mrs. Boucher, my name is Margaret Hale." Taking out her badge to show identification, Margaret continued "I'm from the Department of Human Services. I'm here to investigate allegations of child neglect. I want to stress that these are only allegations and that I'm here to check on the well being of the children. May I come…"
Margaret was cut off by Mrs. Boucher. She told Margaret defensively "The children are fine! I don't know who told you to come to my home but we don't need no DHS checking up on us. My husband and I are perfectly capable of taking care of our children!" Just as Mrs. Boucher was about to shut the door, Margaret firmly pushed the door back and told Mrs. Boucher in a very calm and soothing voice, "ma'am, I mean you no harm but I must be sure the children are ok. If the allegations are found to be untrue no further action will be taken but if you do not let me in, I may take this as a sign that the allegations are indeed true. Please, let me in."
Mrs. Boucher further opened the door and let Margaret in. It was 1:00 in the afternoon and the older children were in school. Three children, ages four, two and one were running around the house while Mrs. Boucher made room for Margaret on her old, rough couch. When Margaret walked in their home, she knew right away that the Bouchers would not be together much longer. Margaret had not worked for DHS for a long time and so far, when she visited a home for non-routine visits, she found that allegations of abuse or neglect were usually unfounded. However, the Bouchers were the first family she had visited where she had a sinking feeling that the Boucher children were being neglected. Mrs. Boucher looked worn and tired. Margaret knew from Mrs. Boucher's slow, delayed actions that something was wrong, perhaps depression. There was hardly any food in the Boucher's home. Clothing, furniture, toys and more were all thrown together into big piles that made it impossible to walk around easily or even sit. As Margaret sat down with Mrs. Boucher, she explained how DHS received allegations about neglect, how the lack of food in the home would have to be noted and that she would have to make further visits to further assess the situation.
On further visits, Margaret was able to meet the other Boucher children as well as John Boucher. Although they were at first suspicious of Margaret, her warm demeanor and kind countenance made them become more trustful of her. Margaret had developed a bond with the Bouchers which made her desperate to find a solution that wouldn't break up the family.
Margaret worked hard with her supervisors, Bess and Nick Higgins, to work out some kind of situation that would help the children but also leave them in the care of their parents. Nick Higgins was a Master Level social worker who had worked with the City of Philadelphia for over 30 years. He had seen many cases like the Bouchers so his perception of the situation was much different from Margaret's. He was in favor of having the children placed in foster care at least temporarily until the Bouchers showed a willingness to enter rehab and until Heather decided to seek treatment for her illness. He no longer worked in the field like Margaret, which made her feel that in some ways he was removed from the clients they were charged with helping.
Bess Higgins had followed her father and deceased mother into social work. She worked with DHS since she received her Bachelors in Social Work and continued to work with the organization while getting her Masters. At times, she found it frustrating to work in such a bureaucratic organization and thought of quitting. But her patience with the organization had recently led to Bess' promotion. Bess, like her father, was an anomaly in a company that had a high turnover rate. She worked there for six years and her superiors appreciated her dedication to DHS. Bess was not far removed from her time as a field social worker, so she was a bit more empathetic to Margaret's feelings than Nick.
On the train ride to work that morning, Margaret knew that arrangements would be made for the Bouchers that day. Bess called Margaret on her cell and told her to come into her office as soon as she came into work. When Margaret entered Bess' office, she saw Bess dressed in her usual dark top (this day it was black) and grey slacks with her hair pinned into a chignon. "Margaret, I called you in to tell you that we're going to discuss the Boucher case later on in the day around 4:00. I have to warn you that my dad is leaning towards placing the children in foster care. Of course, he wants them all to stay together if possible but you know the likelihood of that happening is very slim. There are not a lot of foster parents willing to take on so many children at the same time. I reminded him how disruptive it can be for siblings to be broken apart and I've told him that it would be much better if we have the children stay with another relative who would be willing to keep all the children together. He told me that so far you have had little success in finding a relative is willing or able to help. Is that correct?"
"Yes it is, Bess. The grandmother is quite ill, the other grandparents are deceased and Mr. and Mrs. Boucher's siblings are dealing with their own issues. The only suitable relative that could take on all the children-Mr. Boucher's brother-is currently serving military duty in Afghanistan and there's no telling when he'll be back. Bess, there must be some way we can keep all the children together. If we could provide some financial assistance to the family and find a way to get Heather some help, I know it would make things better for the entire family."
"Margaret, you know we can't force the family to take any kind of government assistance nor can we force Mrs. Boucher to seek treatment for her illness. Honestly, if the Bouchers don't want to seek help, I'm not sure if it is healthy for the children to remain with them. From what you've told me, I know Mr. Boucher is a proud man who doesn't want help but if he can't see the benefit in allowing us to help him and his family then there's not much more we can do. Our ultimate concern is the welfare of the children and I think you know as well I do that until the Bouchers decide to accept help and treatment, the children would be better off in different homes or preferably a different home."
As much as Margaret didn't want to concede this point, as much as she wanted to keep the family together, she knew Bess was right. Nothing further could be done. Margaret went to her meeting with Nick and Bess to begin to plan what was next for the Boucher children. When Margaret left work, she knew she didn't want to go home straightaway.
Margaret and Bess decided to take a short walk to a Starbucks near 18th and Market Streets to take their minds off the Bouchers. Outside of work, the two were very close companions who were bonded not only by shared work experiences but shared values and similar life experiences. "Bess, thanks for walking with me. The Boucher case is so distressing to me. More than any other case I've had so far. I love my cousin Edith but it's so hard to talk to her about the concerns I have at work. She's been very sheltered and it's hard for her to relate. It's good to have someone I can talk to about these issues and more importantly, someone who's empathetic."
"Margaret, there's no need to thank me. I know how stressful this job can be. Social workers are so busy saving the world but we rarely talk to others about our own problems. If we don't have an outlet for our own concerns, we get burned out. The last thing we need is for an excellent social worker like you to get frustrated and burned out. I'm always here for you whenever you need me."
Margaret smiled at her friend and they walked the rest of their short journey to the coffee shop discussing a range of issues. When they entered the Starbucks, they noticed immediately a tall, imposing but exceedingly handsome figure with raven black hair, a deep British accent and an obviously expensive designer suit reprimanding a meek and much smaller barista.
"Has Starbucks resorted to hiring imbeciles now? How could you mess an order as simple as a vanilla latte? Caramel Macchiato and vanilla lattes are nothing alike!" screamed the man from the outside of the counter.
"Sir, I'm so sorry. Your order must have gotten mixed with the previous customer's. I'll make you a latte right away. Please sir, calm down. I'm really…"
"Are you telling me to calm down? It isn't your place to tell me to do anything. This Starbucks has been messing up my orders a lot lately and I'm sick of it! This place needs competent employees not stupid employees like…"
The barista was on the verge of tears. Becoming increasingly angry by the unfair exchange Margaret stepped up to the man. Bess tried to pull her friend aside to let the two handle the situation on their own but it was no use. Margaret was determined to put this bully in his place. "Excuse me sir but I think you owe the young woman an apology."
"Who are you?" barked the gentleman.
"Well, it's really none of your concern but if you must know, my name is Margaret. You're being extremely rude to this woman even after she has apologized and offered to remedy the situation. If you're dissatisfied with the service here, then take it up with the manager. There is no excuse for your behavior and frankly, you should be ashamed of yourself! I haven't seen children throw a temper tantrum the likes of the one you've just given. I know you wouldn't tolerate anyone speaking to you the way you have spoken to this woman."
The man tried desperately to interject "But…"
"I'm not done!" continued Margaret, making the man become submissively silent to her. "She deserves the same respect that you would expect from anyone else. Now, I think you should apologize and accept the woman's offer or leave. There are other customers waiting and your tirade is holding the rest of us up." Other customers in the café began to clap and cheer for Margaret while the man apologized to the barista, accepted the latte and left the coffee shop. The barista softly thanked Margaret for her intervention.
"Miss, I thank you so much for standing up for me. I didn't mean to mess up his order. My mind is just a bit frazzled. I'm trying to figure out how to pay for classes for next year and I've got a final coming up for a summer course."
"It's ok. I understand" said Margaret. "Just be sure to never let jerks like that see you cry. They see it as a sign of weakness. Never give them the upper hand."
The usually confident and assured man was rattled. He didn't usually have situations where he was left speechless and unsure of himself. As he walked to the parking lot of his office building to get into his car, he wondered to himself who the beautiful, strong willed and haughty woman was who made him silent. No woman, or man for that matter, had that effect on him besides his mother.