Posted on 11/25/2014 7:30:42 AM PST by beaversmom
When an assisted living home in California shut down last fall, many of its residents were left behind, with nowhere to go.
The staff at the Valley Springs Manor left when they stopped getting paid — except for cook Maurice Rowland and Miguel Alvarez, the janitor.
"There was about 16 residents left behind, and we had a conversation in the kitchen, 'What are we going to do?' " Rowland says.
"If we left, they wouldn't have nobody," the 34-year-old Alvarez says.
Their roles quickly transformed for the elderly residents, who needed round-the-clock care.
"I would only go home for one hour, take a shower, get dressed, then be there for 24-hour days," says Alvarez.
Rowland, 35, remembers passing out medications during those long days. He says he didn't want to leave the residents — some coping with dementia — to fend for themselves.
"I just couldn't see myself going home — next thing you know, they're in the kitchen trying to cook their own food and burn the place down," Rowland says. "Even though they wasn't our family, they were kind of like our family for this short period of time."
For Alvarez, the situation brought back memories from his childhood.
"My parents, when they were younger, they left me abandoned," he says. "Knowing how they are going to feel, I didn't want them to go through that."
Alvarez and Rowland spent several days caring for the elderly residents of Valley Springs Manor until the fire department and sheriff took over.
The incident led to legislation in California known as the Residential Care for the Elderly Reform Act of 2014.
"If I would've left, I think that would have been on my conscience for a very long time," says Rowland.
Audio produced for Morning Edition by Jud Esty-Kendall.
StoryCorps is a national nonprofit that gives people the chance to interview friends and loved ones about their lives. These conversations are archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, allowing participants to leave a legacy for future generations. Learn more, including how to interview someone in your life, at StoryCorps.org.
I believe these two have a seat in heaven.
There’s two men who talk the talk and walk the walk! God Bless them!
Thank you for sharing this story. This is proof there are good, decent, and honorable human beings left in this world. God bless these good men and their families.
These good hearted men were raised right. You can see the love in their eyes. God’s great blessings to these two wonderful souls! Happy Thanksgiving!
Well done, gentlemen. Needed to read something like this today.
My neighbor has 24x7 in-home assisted living courtesy of the state, apparently.
I’m sure the folks will be cared for by the infinite welfare state.
I paid at my 1040.
The only missing part was that the janitor needed to become a gang leader.
:)
Instincts and hearts were pure, good guys.
Thanks for this! I spent most of the night on FB with a friend that lives 5 miles from Ferguson while she was freaking out. I needed something to remind me that most people are basically honest and upstanding.
Mr. Rowland and Mr. Alvarez - may God bless you both!
Stories like this one restore one’s faith in humanity.
That wouldn’t be how obama or Michael Brown or Planned Parenthood or many libs would react.
Praise the Lord.
Honorable, good men.
God Bless Them.
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