To be a civil servant is to give back to the community

Seventeen years ago, during Michele Catalano’s first month working in the Long Island, New York court system, a woman came in from Hempstead, sobbing that she was going to be evicted.

As the judge’s secretary, Catalano helped the upset woman fill out the paperwork needed for the judge to decide whether or not to hear a case. The crying woman had received a 72-hour notice, which meant she’d likely get an answer from the judge the same day. The woman refused to go home and instead wanted to wait right there. She continued to cry, telling Catalano that her kids would end up on the street.

“I was trying to appease her,” Catalano recalled. Her boss told her to let it go, that she’d done her job, that she was being kind enough. The judge denied the woman’s appeal, and the woman went “ballistic.” She told Catalano that it was her fault and that her eviction would be on her conscience. “How do you sleep at night?” she asked.

Of course, it wasn’t Catalano’s fault, but she took it to heart. Catalano helps roughly 60 people a day. It’s draining and difficult to offer kindness when people are at their worst, and in the beginning, particularly, it was shattering. The first three years, she said, were challenging, as she took everything personally.

“I’ve learned that I’m there for a reason: I have to help these people,” she said. “I can’t take it personally when someone cries in front of me or when they’re angry.”

Few people would say that their job is the perfect fit, but Catalano is among them. Catalano has been working in the Long Island court system for 17 years.

Generally, the people who come to her window are being sued or evicted – or might be. It is her job to help people fill out forms that will be reviewed by a judge, who, in turn, decides to either hear a case or dismiss it.

In short, Catalano helps people navigate an often-confusing system on days that are, for many, some of the worst of their lives. Catalano offers up sincerity and kindness to counter the frustrations her fellow community members experience.

“I’ve always been kind of a helper,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to fix things.”

Indeed, it’s nearly genetic. Her father, who was a fireman for a quarter century in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and a volunteer for nearly his entire adult life, always stressed the importance of the civil service and giving back to the community.

In the beginning, this job was just a placeholder. She was an English major at St. John’s University and really wanted to be a writer. Catalano does write, and has amassed almost 900,000 followers on Twitter.

But for eleven years, she worked in the criminal and civil courts as a judge’s secretary. For the last six years, however, Catalano has worked solely in the civil court, where she deals with civil judgments.

“Almost everyone who comes in is not a happy person,” she said. No matter what side of a dispute they’re on, whether it’s a landlord or a tenant. “Even if they’re suing someone, they’re angry.”

Catalano’s job is, in a strange way, to absorb people’s pain and people’s anger, and guide them through the labyrinth of the court system. This is incredibly valuable for a community. Making people feel like they’re being listened to, like they matter, is important.

“When I’m helping someone, I want them to feel like I’m on their side,” she said. “I don’t judge. I’m here to help you out.”

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