Good Samaritan
Caregiver finds purpose in new career

by Jon O'Guinn, Dallas Morning News

A woman wearing a bright red blouse ambles toward the door.

Nearby, Kathryn Robinson is regaling visitors with stories about the legendary singer Vikki Carr.

“Momma Kathryn loves you,” she says to the woman.

“I love you, too,” the woman says before exiting the building.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Ms. Robinson whispers.

Over the course of her life, Ms. Robinson has had many jobs, but only one passion: helping people.

“I’ve always been a care-giver,” she says. “For my aunt, then for my mother and, finally, my brother. That’s what drew me to this job.”

Ms. Robinson is a resident care attendant at Samaritan House, a facility in Fort Worth that is home to 52 men and women living with HIV/AIDS.

“The people who live here have nowhere else to go,” she says. “Most of them have come here after living on the streets. Some of them never have a visitor because their families have shunned them. But they’re family to me.”

She says Samaritan House is not a nursing home or a medical facility, although a full range of medical and psychological services are available to residents.

Executive director Steve Dutton says the organization will break ground on May 26 for a 66-unit apartment building that will provide residents an opportunity to reunite with their families in a transitional setting.

“Our mission is to provide an environment that helps people to rebuild their lives, and Kathryn embodies that mission,” he says. “She’s street-wise and a real pro. Her motherly instincts, salty personality and no-nonsense approach make her a real asset to Samaritan House.”

At an age when most people are taking up hobbies or traveling, Ms. Robinson is working full time — and loving it.

“I’d never be happy sitting at home all day,” she says. “I have to be active. So many people my age die of boredom. I don’t have time to get bored.”

She was born in Fort Worth 67 years ago, the youngest child of a car dealer and a seamstress. Her parents divorced before she was born, however, so she and her brother were raised by their mother.

“I had dreams of becoming a nurse,” she says. “But my responsibility was to go out and work.”

Yet after graduating from Trimble High School and working for five years as a billing and shipping clerk, she set off for Odessa to care for an ailing aunt.

“I liked Odessa,” she says. “I guess I’m just a country girl at heart, and the small-town atmosphere appealed to me.”

She and her first husband would later live on a small farm there.

“We had an acre of land, a wonderful garden and lots of chickens,” she says. “I sold fresh eggs, which were a rare commodity in those days.”

Divorce brought her back to Fort Worth and to a job alongside her mother at what is now Aramark Uniform Services.

“I became her supervisor,” she says.

They also shared a home, and when her mother grew ill, Ms. Robinson cared for her until her death. A second marriage and divorce, and work as a maid, a meat packager, an estate liquidator and a cashier followed.

Then, in August 2003, Ms. Robinson heard about Samaritan House.

“They hired me on the spot,” she says. “I thought I’d get part-time work to supplement my Social Security. Instead, they gave me a full-time job. And now I don’t want to leave.”

She says she has “no qualms” about working with people who have HIV/AIDS.

“They’re so stigmatized,” she says. “But they’re human beings, and they need to know that someone cares.”

Yet she also admits that her great gift — her sense of humor — is also the hardest thing to hold on to, especially when a resident dies.

“These are seriously ill people,” she says. “It hurts to lose someone. Nonetheless, I plan on doing this ’til I can’t do it anymore.”

But she’s quick to add that she has outside interests. Besides sharing her historic bungalow home with two beloved dogs, she also is vice president of the International Vikki Carr Fan Club.

“We’re friends,” she says of the three-time Grammy winning singer and El Paso native. “I admire the way she helps other people through her benefit concerts and scholarship program.”

Ms. Robinson’s advice for people her age is as direct as she is: “Get out and get busy. If you don’t stay busy, your mind goes to putty. But if you keep your mind occupied, you’ll keep the cobwebs out.”

Thanks to Jon O'Guinn and the Dallas Morning News for the use of this story.