Home Visiting - Might Not Be What You Think

The Charlotte-Douglas airport in North Carolina is relatively small. It has a moving sidewalk, but no trains – and you walk everywhere. There’s a lady who cleans the restrooms – and she is the reason I love that airport. The first time I arrived there, I stopped by the restroom and she said, “HEY! Come on in! I have a place right here for you. It’s all clean!” And she ushered me to the stall. While I was washing my hands, she said, “Would you like some mouthwash? Might make you feel better.” She pumped a medicine cup full of blue Listerine out of a huge jug and handed it to me. While I was swishing it around and my mouth was still on fire, she asked, “Would you like some peppermint candy?” I accepted and then, she said, “I hope you have a real nice trip. And I hope you will come back here again!” Suddenly, I forgot all about the person who sat beside me taking up their whole seat and half of mine. It didn’t matter that the person sitting behind me blew his nose loudly and almost continuously for an hour and a half.

That restroom attendant didn’t clean toilets; she made the journey better for others. That is the role of a home visitor. Regardless of the model used, the goal is the same. Home visiting is about helping families along their journey. Many families are on a trek that is very difficult and not of their choosing. Sometimes they are in dark, scary places and on roads that seem more like dead-ends than paths to success. Home visitors improve the trip and help families re-write the ending of their stories. Home visiting is not about stopping in for a quick hello. It is about helping families to a healthier, brighter, more stable place. It is about helping children become more socially, cognitively, physically, and emotionally ready for school and life. It’s about telling the family, “HEY! We’re in this together and things are going to be better!” The true value of home visiting may not manifest for years, but the immediate relief from helplessness and hopelessness is the beginning of lifelong change.

For more information on Home Visiting, go to www.children.alabama.gov and click on First Teacher, or call 334-353-2700.

-Dr. Susan McKim, Director

First Teacher