Our
THE SOCIAL SAVIORS
7th “R Annual
WOMEN’S ISSUE We're proud to highlight these amazing women of Durham – who work in local government, in our schools, in health care, in the sciences and with many other organizations
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ecently I went to the DMV,” says Catherine Williamson-Hardy, the deputy director of Durham County Department of Social Services (DSS), as she and four colleagues sit around a conference table. Their phones buzz and chirp with issues that need addressing, but these five try their best not to look at them. A few fidget. They all seem eager to do their work, not to talk about it. “A gentleman there, an employee,” Catherine continues, “asked me where I worked.” She told him. The man’s mother had qualified last year for food and nutrition disaster benefits after Hurricane Florence. Thirteen thousand others qualified, too. DSS had a week to process everything, and these five worked all day, every day. So did their staff. “He said, ‘My mother lost a lot during the storm, and we came up there and there were hundreds of people, and it was so organized and it went so well, and my mother was just so happy that she was able to restore what she had lost.’” Restoring what’s lost: This is the work they do. These five are all directors of DSS, responsible for one piece of a larger ideal: to help Durhamites, as its mission statement says, navigate the obstacles to “physical, social and financial well-being.” When people seek the help of DSS, Catherine says, they are “in their most vulnerable state.” It takes all of them – along with Brandon Mitchell, the assistant director of business operations, and Ben Rose, the agency director – working together. “An individual may come in with one need,” says Rhonda Stevens, the assistant director of family economic independence, “but in working with the family, it may be that we touch all those areas.” Jovetta Whitfield, the assistant director for child and family services, agrees. Each person has