City Employees Are Heroes
In this business, we often call out ineptitude, racism and injustice within ‘government’ and ‘bureaucracies.’ However, even within the tangled mess that passes for our government, we still see individuals working local government jobs who act bravely and heroically — even though they themselves may scoff at the label.
These city employees are people who, in the course of “just” doing their jobs, find a way to help others, save lives, or make life a little easier for poor folks not accustomed to it. If that’s not a heroic act, what is?
Case in point: Nina Marshall, a Customer Care Analyst with the Baltimore City Department of Public Works.
Nina, a current Baltimore resident, but southern California native, describes herself as a homebody. She’s devoted to her 3 kids, grandson and work. Her work inspires her when she’s “putting smiles on customers’ faces. Not actually face to face! But I get emails..” she says.
It’s no big surprise that someone like Nina goes out of her way to help us pay people’s water bills. “I go the extra mile every time. I can have 700 customers and each one is like my only one.” In her job, Nina has access to account data that we cannot see. With an eye to protecting her customers’ privacy but still helping them, she has, on occasion, even called customers who are at risk of shut-offs and told them to get in touch with us.
After we pay on a client’s account, there can be a lag of up to three days before the payment is properly credited. You can imagine how agonizing the wait is for a family desperate to simply shower at home. It’s also frustrating for us to watch people continue to suffer, when we know we have paid down their bill. Nina updates our clients’ records immediately to reflect our payments, so people get their water turned back on faster. Thank you, Nina!
Nina considers her customers the best part of her job. “They’re my people. That’s like my family,” she adds, laughing warmly. “I like making their lives just a little bit easier. When they see these bills, they feel like life is over. I just want to make sure they get help. Make sure they don’t lose their houses.”
Nina truly stands out among the people we work with. She’s clearly found the right business for her. When I ask her why she helps us, when not everyone does, she shrugs off the compliment. “I have to! You guys mean a lot to me. I love doing for people.”
In our country, these are confusing times.
People are prosecuted for leaving lifesaving food and water in borderland deserts across the southwest. In order to get healthcare for a sick student, a school principal claims the student as her own child. She is also indicted. Meanwhile, our government separates kids from adults in asylum-seeking families, then doesn’t even bother to keep track of where they send the kids. It’s like our government is in the business of telling folks — especially brown and black folks — they don’t matter.
Fortunately for all of us, people like Nina Marshall make it their business to show them they do.
