On a Wednesday morning I was chatting with our new office receptionist Polina when a passerby popped their head in the door to advise of a gentleman who appeared homeless and confused sitting on a bench just outside the doors of the office. She said that he had followed her upstairs in an elevator but would only mumble and didn't make any sense, she gave him a hat and gloves and he left. I thanked her and headed out to see what I could do.

I found a frail old man dressed insufficiently for the weather but sporting a new set of gloves and a cute woman's designer toque courtesy of the passerby. He was probably about 75 years old and was hunched over mumbling very quietly to himself. He didn't appear dirty or dangerous but maybe a bit confused and seemed focused on playing with the string attached to his new gloves.

It is the reality of the city that you find all kinds of people who live in a different world and as long as they are not a danger to themselves or others, they are, and should be, free to live their life as best they see fit. Obviously, this exists in rural areas but in a large urban centre it has nowhere to hide and spills out onto the street corners, coffee shops, and beaches observable to the general public. Sometimes these people are homeless, addicted, mentally unwell, or just eccentric but in any instance, they usually stand out. The anonymity and diversity of the city is what I love about it but there is a level of inherent responsibility instilled in each of us to determine who is in need of help, and who is just different.

"Hello sir"

I had good presence and projection but he didn't react or look up at me so I tried again.

"Hi sir, my name is Rex. Are you alright?"

He continued mumbling and playing with the string on his gloves so I reached for the glove to get his attention. He was looking at me now so I tried again.

"Hi sir, my name is Rex are you ok? You look a bit confused"

He didn't react but looked at me and continued to mumble to himself. I could tell he wasn't speaking English but I wasn't exactly sure what language it was.

"Do you speak English?"

He shook his head.

"Habla Espanol?"

Again, he shook his head.

"Italian?"

Once more, he shook his head.

"Parle French?"

"Oui" he nodded.

"Ce Va?"

He didn't respond which was a relief because I don't speak French but I at least knew that he did. I was originally concerned that he had followed a tenant up into the building and thought he was possibly looking for a place to sleep or harassing people for money but after my initial contact with him I was concerned for his well being and wanted a translator to see if he was of sound mind. It is easy enough to move someone along and make them some other security guards' problem but it happens far too often and doesn't help anyone.

By that time, I had a member of our medical response team with me who had his hands in his pockets and wasn't sure what to do. I told him to hang tight and I set out in search of a translator.

Polina the new receptionist was a delightfully odd woman and was close by, she was an aspiring actress and would often have riddles taped to the desk for everyone to try to solve. As a result of her strange personality and mood swings I didn't know that much about her but I did know that she grew up in Europe and guessed that she probably spoke more than one language.

I stuck my head in the office and asked "Hey Polina, do you speak French?"

"Yeah, of course. It's been a while, why?" she asked,

"Can you translate for me? That guy the woman told us about doesn't speak English"

"Oh yeah, no problem." she replied with a confidence that she appeared to be attempting to project onto herself instead of me. I guess should have known ...

The walk back was only 20 feet but she had time to pull up google translate on her phone and remember how to conjugate her vowels. I had a feeling this wasn't going to go well.

"Bon ... Bon ... jour ... Monsieur," she got out while staring at her phone.

The male now looking at her with a blank look on his face.

"Com ... uh ... Comer .... comment t'appelles-tu?" she asked.

He looked at me and looked for a minute as if he was about to roll his eyes. The male shifted his mumble into fifth gear and now his words were really moving but also very jumbled.

"I ... woah, sir? Monsieur?" Polina said as she started to panic. "I can't understand him." she said to me shaking her head in disbelief.

I didn't laugh, but I was close. I needed a new translator.

I knew we didn't have any French speaking guards on but I got on the radio and broadcast across the cleaning and maintenance channels in hopes that they had someone who could help out. My call was answered by Cole, a young Cajun man who worked for our maintenance department.

He arrived on site quickly and I briefed him about what was going on. I asked him to translate my questions word for word so that I could get a feel for If this guy was of sound mind. At this point I had my doubts but wanted to be sure.

After asking a few questions it was clear that the gentleman's name was Pierre but that didn't know where he was, what year it was, how old he was based on his birthday and was generally not of sound mind.

Confusion regarding surroundings and inability to answer general knowledge questions are obviously a sign of possible or probable medical distress that need to be investigated by a doctor and so I had dispatch contact 911 for a welfare check. It was around this time that I noticed a hospital bracelet on his wrist and began working under the assumption that Pierre had wandered away from the hospital. At least I knew his name and had someone to keep him company while we waited for the ambulance to arrive. Cole was fantastic at entertaining the gentleman and said that he reminded him of his grandfather.

A short while later the ambulance arrived and the paramedics made contact with Pierre. One of the paramedics spoke French so communication wasn't an issue but seemingly both of their states of minds were.

A lot of people ask me if I like my job or I get satisfaction out of it, I usually say yes depending on the day. The truth is that I do what I do because I'm not sure how not to care about people like Pierre and the general population as a whole. I could have moved him on to the next property without going through the trouble of finding a translator and figuring out if he needed help but my love for people and desire to do good prevented me from doing that. I try to be an active participant in both my life and my job rather than allowing the status quo to take over and pay my bills. I look for opportunities to help everyone regardless of whether it's my job. Unfortunately, it seems that these paramedics who arrived to help Pierre weren't enrolled in the same school of thought.

They were rough with Pierre taking off his coat to check his blood pressure, they made fun of him In English right in front of him because of his smell, age, confusion and were generally terrible people. He was just an unpleasant obstacle which needed navigating on the way to lunch for these two. I've seen this team of paramedics before and experienced an equally cold reception. They took him to the hospital but that's where their goodwill and generosity reached its peak. At least there were probably nurses and doctors at the hospital who were willing to help him get whatever he needed.

I can't adequately articulate how frustrating it is to watch someone who needs help be mistreated by the services that are in place to protect and help them. Fortunately, I've seen more success stories than failures but this one steps forward in my mind's eye and screams at me. Some people like Polina want to help even though they don't possess the necessary skills to remedy the situation while others, who are literally employed to help, just don't really give a shit. Would I have done anything differently? No, and that's what's frustrating, I did what I was supposed to do.

I never saw Pierre again and I am not sure what became of him. I hope that he lives the rest of his life in peace with people who love and care about him.

What did I learn? - Language barriers are challenging but you can usually find what you need if you think outside the box. There are generally lots of people who want to help even if they don't know how but unfortunately, you are at the mercy of dispatch when you call for help.