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alternative accommodation could be found. She could get a cash handout from Youth and Community Services to make up the arrears, and St Vincent de Paul could help with groceries. But in the long run she would have to find somewhere else to live, and there was nothing cheaper available in Manly. The tears rolled down her lined face. Did she really have to leave Manly? All her friends were here. I tried to comfort her, promised to do what I could and helped her down the stairs. As I came back up Donna was waiting: "What did you do to that poor old lady?" she demanded. "Nothing--that's the whole point. What could I do?" We sat down and tried to think of a solution. Donna rang her contacts. Eventually, a community health worker said that the old lady was ill enough to be admitted to a local bursing home as a subsidised patient. And so, by virtue of infirmities, this senior citizen found some shelter in her own community.
Sometimes we could get satisfaction in cutting red tape. Ordinary citizens can be victims of over-zealous public servants who too literally interpret laws and regulations when exercising their duties.
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