Helen’s Hellos: A quest of spreading smiles and greetings to the world

Helen Fautua, originally from American Samoa, is a 32-year-old short-term resident of Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) who greets everyone with exuberance, always calling them by their first name. 

She has an intense yet shy stare. Her big brown puppy eyes draw you in with palpable kindness and a longing for love and belonging. 

She can often be seen walking with gentle intention, her “Dora the Explorer” hairstyle bouncing, wearing a smile that could potentially light the darkest place on earth — prison. 

When Helen was in rehab at her lowest, her heart opened when participants and workers started greeting her by name. She felt seen, which was new to her. This experience allowed her to come out of her shell and assisted her with her quest to spread smiles and greetings to the world. 

Helen said, full of eagerness, “I like names and I am interested in the person that was given that name. Once I hear a name, I log it in.” 

Greeting someone by their first name may seem small, but it has a powerful effect on both mental health and relationships. It helps people feel recognized and valued. 

When someone hears their name, it shows that you see them as an individual rather than just another person. 

Resident Patricia Lane spoke about Helen with endearment and shared her experience with her. “No matter what kind of day Helen has, it’s all about making sure you know that you matter to her.” Lane said. “In a place where I feel so lonely, she makes me feel seen, important, and that I matter.” 

Helen greets you every time she sees you; it doesn’t matter if she saw you five minutes ago, and it doesn’t matter if it’s 10 times after that. 

When asked why the repetition, she dreamingly said, “I might not see them after today, so I cherish them every time I see them.” It makes Helen happy to get the response back. “I give what I want in return,” Helen said. “Every time I get greeted, it feels like a giant hug.” 

She considers all the people she meets good people and her friends. “All people are good people,” Helen said. “And when they do bad, I don’t see them as bad. They just did a bad thing.” 

One of her roommates, Yvette Vasquez, talked about the enormous amount of energy Helen expends to take care of others. “She goes above and beyond,” Vasquez said. “I tell her all the time, what you do for others do for yourself.” 

Helen takes pride in knowing a lot of names. She immediately started reciting names that she knew, and would have kept going had I not interrupted her: Kristin, Nora, Teri, Gina, Big Mama… 

Haley Neto, another of Helen’s roommates, disclosed that she has never met anyone like Helen. “The first thing Helen does when she wakes up in the morning is to say ‘Good Morning, Everyone!’” Neto said. “And then we get an individual good morning with our name attached to it.” 

Helen wants to be remembered as peaceful and happy, even though she is sad to be leaving people behind that can’t go home yet. 

“I like the people I have met here; I feel free already and I don’t feel alone,” Helen said.