The photo at the left depicts the entrance to N Street Village. It is rather formidable, and clearly a place that is designed to protect its inhabitants. Afterall, the term "shelter" means to shield from danger.
As I have been reflecting upon the various ways that people sheild themselves from others, I began to think about telecommunication, and the ways that something as simple as a telephone can either harm or hurt us.
A few years ago, one of my friends was bragging about his new cell phone's "rescue ring" ~ in a bind because he was on a date with a girlfriend he wasn't that interested in~ no worries: Brrrring! His phone would rescue him with a ring tone. "So sorry...gotta go!"
One of the luxuries of having a cell phone is that we can be in constant conversation with each other. But if you need to hide out, your phone can also be a dangerous give-away.
Revealing location, location, location...
As our UW-EC nurses received their orientation to the shelter's overnight experience, they each encountered a strict orientation to the "hello phone"....That is to say that they each were oriented to the correct answer for that particular phone. Far from the typical reponse of the business phone: "Lutherplace Memorial Shelter", nurses were coached to answer the "hello phone" with a two syllable greeting ... providing a safe response to a different type of rescue ring.
Of course, the person who shares this phone number with others has to have profound TRUST in the staff or nurses who answer the phone.
One of the luxuries of having a cell phone is that we can be in constant conversation with each other. But if you need to hide out, your phone can also be a dangerous give-away.
Revealing location, location, location...
As our UW-EC nurses received their orientation to the shelter's overnight experience, they each encountered a strict orientation to the "hello phone"....That is to say that they each were oriented to the correct answer for that particular phone. Far from the typical reponse of the business phone: "Lutherplace Memorial Shelter", nurses were coached to answer the "hello phone" with a two syllable greeting ... providing a safe response to a different type of rescue ring.
Of course, the person who shares this phone number with others has to have profound TRUST in the staff or nurses who answer the phone.
Their fate may literally lie in the correct response to a ring tone.
Imagine how THAT would feel.
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