Volunteer Reflections
A Reflection by: Jaime
When I reflect back on my 2005 Lenten journey, I realize that it fits in so well with the year-long journey that I've undertaken since last August. I found it easier to give up those materialistic things that I vow to give up nearly every Lent, but spiritually, it's been somewhat of a trying time, and yet the overall Lenten journey was filled with a dignity not experience before.
With the beginning of the season of Lent, I have once again given up those things that I find so hard to live without. This year I've had a little help... Since the end of August, I have been given an amazing opportunity. I have the opportunity to give a year of my life, serving those who are less fortunate and I've been working to fight some of the social injustices that pervade our world today. I am a member of the 2004-2005 Diocesan Service Corps, a service program that focuses on four tenets - Community, Spirituality, Simplicity, and Social Justice. I, along with my three Community members, live among the less privileged while working in different social service and social justice related agencies and organizations around Buffalo. Simplicity has helped me to live without a lot of the little "extras" in my life. I don't have my own car (my Community members and I each share 1/4 of a Community car), I don't have access to a computer in our house, we limit how much television we watch, and we live off a simple stipend that covers transportation, food, and any other personal needs.
During this year, I have two work placements. The first is at the Saints Columba-Brigid Montessori School. The school is an inner-city preschool that serves children aged three to six. I work as a Teacher's Assistant in a classroom of three to five year olds, and it's been a huge learning experience for me. I've learned patience wile experiencing the joys of working with young children and of watching the kids discover the world around them. The school emphasizes two values above all else – Peace and Respect – and it has been a real opportunity to challenge myself with these two values in my own life as I try and instill them in the children.
My second placement is at Compeer of Greater Buffalo. Compeer is a mental health agency that uses the power of friendship to improve the lives of children and adults who are striving toward good mental health. The Compeer program offers volunteers the opportunity to change a lonely life, matching volunteers in the community to befriend those who need them most.
I initially had reservations when I learned that I would be working at Compeer. Though I didn't necessarily have any strong prejudices against those with mental illnesses, I nonetheless was hesitant about the population I would be working with. Not having had much experience in the mental health field or with those that suffer from a mental illness, the only information I had about the issue was what I had picked up from various sources, including society and the media. In the United States, 1 out of 4 people struggle with a mental illness and yet, it is still a closet illness. Having a mental illness is portrayed as something to be embarrassed about, and it is only in recent years that seeing a therapist or a counselor has become somewhat socially accepted and even recommended for any struggles that one is dealing with, including the management of daily stress. While we may prefer not to think about it, serious mental illnesses can affect anyone. Like any other illness, it can begin unexpectedly and cross all boundaries, with diagnoses that include (but are not limited to): depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and attention deficit disorder. Some individuals are affected mildly, some suffer from two or three mental illnesses simultaneously. But the perceived fact is, mental illness is still something to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. The negative stigma associated with mental illness greatly affects the lives of those struggling with these issues. Our society has a difficult time accepting people with mental illnesses as "normal," and immediately, labels are put upon people with mental illnesses. As a result, whether or not they are actively discriminated against, the stigmas and fear of people suffering with mental illnesses most often changes how that person is received. Those that struggle with mental illnesses then not only have to deal with the effects of their illness, but they must grapple with integrating into a society that views them in a negative light and often times, they struggle with developing and maintaining relationships with the people around them.
Compeer is a grassroots response to the gap in traditional support systems for individuals diagnosed with mental illness. Since 1973, Compeer has provided more than 20,000 individuals with a caring and accepting friend and advocate. Many people referred to Compeer are alone, without the vital support of family and friends. They are from every walk of life and range in age from 1 to 100. The Compeer program recognizes that mental illness can be the "loneliest illness in the world" and believes that volunteers can provide the comfort and motivation needed to win the day-to-day battles faced by people diagnosed with a mental illness. All it takes is a volunteer who is willing to give at least one hour a week in friendship to change the life of a person living with a mental illness.
Within the past six months that I've been working at Compeer, I have been blessed enough to have been served by those people I have befriended. They have been my guides to the world of mental illnesses, of loneliness and isolation, as well as my guide to what a friendship can mean to those who have no one. Their patience and willingness to look past my ignorance, and my lack of knowledge and experience in the mental health field amazes me. They've been wonderful friends to me, probably better friends than I could ever be.
A "Compeer" is a friend, a companion, an equal. In thinking about the name of this agency and its purpose, there couldn't be a better name for an organization like this. We are all made in the likeness and image of God, and our humanity is what bonds us together, no matter the color of our skin, the clothes that we wear, the work that we do, or the physical, mental, or emotional struggles we individually face. We all bleed, we all cry, and we all get lonely. But we're also capable of knowing the joys of laughter and of friendship, of knowing what it feels like to care and to be cared for, it's just a question of the means of experiencing these feelings. Some, especially those suffering with mental illnesses, have a much more difficult time developing the relationships necessary to experience the gifts of friendship. To be able to look past the divides of society, to look past any and all stereotypes and negative stigmas associated with mental illness and to extend our hand to one another is what Compeer is all about
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: "You are the light of the world, a city set on a mountain cannot be hidden." I came to be a part of the Diocesan Service Corps with the intent of being a Light to those who needed help, and what I'm slowly finding is that, in fact, I am the one who is being enlightened by the people I interact with on a day-to-day basis, by the very people I have come to serve. In this new year and in this season of Lent, amidst all of the chaos and darkness that ensues in our world, I thank those that have been Light to me - my friends, my Community members, my family, and especially, my Compeer friends.
For more information or to become a volunteer, please contact:
Jaime Suk
Compeer of Greater Buffalo
70 Barker Street
Buffalo, NY 14209
716.883.3331
jaime@compeerbuffalo.org
http://www.compeerbuffalo.org