A helping hand

 
When I worked in the Housing Department we were keen to get rent collectors to realise that their job involved much more than just collecting the rent. They were often the only person from the department that the tenants met on a regular basis and therefore they should be aware of the need to think about the tenant’s welfare as well. One new rent collector took that to heart when he met an elderly woman struggling to move an armchair from one flat to another. Taking care to keep his rent collecting bag safe, he not only helped her move the armchair but went back for her small bed and wardrobe as well. Only when he got back to the office did he discover that she was a squatter who’d been given notice to quit and he’d just helped her move into a new squat.