A pair of caregivers at The Pines are beloved by residents for their commitment of going above and beyond their job description. Such acts of kindness range from taking a resident to a restaurant for the first time in her life to helping a resident reconnect with her family.

CNAs and field supervisors Delisa Carter and Kenyata Murphy have a lot of fans at The Pines. When Carter walks through the apartment complex’s courtyard, everyone seems to know her name.

Carter and Murphy both provide caregiving services to residents at The Pines, but residents say they go above and beyond the job description.

Carter has been working as a caregiver at The Pines for 15 years, while Murphy has been there seven years.

“I just love helping people,” said Carter.

Murphy is a Picayune native who got her start in the caregiving field when she took care of her grandmother.

“I took care of her when I was young, and then others in my neighborhood,” she said.

Residents often share things with caregivers that they might not even tell family members, said Murphy. The pair try to support residents beyond their caregiving duties. They take residents out to eat at restaurants, one of whom was in her 80s and had never been to a restaurant before, and organize fun activities like secret Santa.

“Delisa is the most genuine and giving person I have ever met in my life,” said Lynette Penning, a Pines resident. “If there’s anybody that needs help, she will do whatever necessary to try to help them.”

Penning said she is not one of Carter’s clients, but has become one of her friends. Carter gathers food and toiletries to bring to donation points when hurricanes strike, she takes Penning to lunch and if she has extra food, she’ll drop it off, said Penning.

“Anybody that needs anything, Delisa’s the first to step up. Everybody loves her,” said Penning.

Joyce Kliebert has been a resident at the Pines for seven years, and said Carter and Murphy both step up to help residents, whether they’re clients or not. Kliebert said she’s seen the pair stay after hours to help people. Before the pandemic, the pair put together parties to give the residents something to enjoy. They also give residents rides to and from the hospital.

“I’ve been watching them both for six years now, so I just couldn’t believe they were doing some of the things for people here that you know normal people wouldn’t take the time to help anybody,” said Kliebert.

Three years ago Kliebert was looking for her grandson, who she hadn’t seen for six years. She asked Carter to help her find him. By the next day, Carter had found him online and the pair were able to reconnect on the phone. Kliebert also hadn’t seen her daughter in a decade, that is until Carter contacted her.

“She came to visit because of Delisa.”

Carter has helped Theresa Teaff pay her electricity bill, and brought her food and toiletries.

“I didn’t ask her. She doesn’t want anything in return. She is what I’d say is God’s arm.”

While the job description includes caring for clients and involves long work weeks, the pair do a lot outside of their job description, offering support to residents who do not always have family to support them.