Thirty Year Thursday: Mitchell Parsons
To celebrate our thirtieth year anniversary, we’re interviewing a friend of Midtown Assistance Center each Thursday for thirty weeks as part of a series call “Thirty Year Thursday.” This week, we interviewed Mitchell Parsons, MAC staff member and former Jesuit Volunteer Corps member.
How did you first find out about MAC?
I first began working at MAC through my Jesuit Volunteer Corps placement in 1997 and I returned as a staff member in 2002.
What initially drew you to MAC?
When originally joining JVC, I thought I wanted a placement on the west coast, but it turned out the greatest need for volunteers was in the Southeast. When I interviewed at MAC, I liked Dorothy instantly. I was a college senior, and I had a background juggling school work, my band, waiting tables, and bartending. I was good at handling a number of different things at once, so the atmosphere at MAC seemed like a good fit.
What kept you at MAC?
The personal connection MAC has with volunteers and clients and the fact that MAC’s mission is universal. Someone wants to get a job? We can give them the resources to help them get there. The need to help the working poor crosses religious and political boundaries. It translates to everyone. We help people who are trying to help themselves.
What have you learned through your experience with MAC?
I’ve realized that you have to work case by case. You can’t help everyone, and there is no blanket treatment because every person is different. The nature of our work isn’t repetitive. Oftentimes we help someone and they don’t come back, which has helped me learn to be more in the moment when I help a client. I will spend time looking up other organizations that could help someone and finding their little red dots on Google Maps because I may never talk to that individual again. It’s a one shot deal. The way I talk to someone and treat them in one moment will influence them along the rest of their path. If I can do something as small as make someone laugh on the phone, I feel like I have helped them that day.
Do you have a favorite story from your time at MAC?
I will say this: every year, we get a new Jesuit Volunteer, and it renews my faith in mankind to see a group of young people straight out of college wanting to help others. The fact that we still have that connection is probably one of my favorite things.
There are also so many little moments, like helping a client with food or a MARTA card, which may have truly helped people in ways we will never really know.