Mallory Bassinnette is the youngest resident of the emergency shelter at the Bedford Plaza Hotel. She was born on Jan. 16 at Emerson Hospital.
If her first name sounds familiar, that’s not a coincidence.
The baby’s parents, Rosa Angulo Padilla and Emanuel Bassinnette, decided a few weeks ago to name their daughter in honor of Mallory Fuller, a member of the Bedford Health and Human Services’ social work contingent that has been active with the more than 200 residents at the shelter.
“We saw that she was so nice, that she helped everyone,” Padilla, 26, said through a translation service Thursday. “We appreciate and love her.”
Fuller, who is the youth services coordinator in the Youth and Family Services office, was touched by the honor.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” she said, adding that she has been working closely with the parents, who faced some complications with their insurance coverage.
“Mallory helped ease her time at the shelter,” said Health and Human Services Director Heidi Porter. She said Padilla “had trouble communicating, like all of our residents. Mallory was trying to be resourceful, but Mallory goes above and beyond with everybody.”
“Sometimes you don’t realize the difference you are making,” Fuller said. “We have a great social worker team and the families all connect with us. We are a safe space for them.”
Fuller said she has developed a relationship with the medical staff at the Concord hospital, as Padilla is one of several women who arrived at the shelter expecting children.
Padilla is from Honduras and Bassinnette from Haiti. She said they originally met in Chile and landed in Bedford five months ago.
“Now we have a daughter, God bless her,” said Padilla through the translation service. “We are hoping to find a job, ask for asylum, and build a better life for her.”
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