My name is Shirley and I have been volunteering with ERA in the ACVVS Program for 5 years and approximately 5 years prior with another organisation. I enjoy meeting new people and hearing their stories and by providing a listening ear and having a laugh is good medicine. I find giving them a chance to voice what is worrying them to someone outside the facility (or home) is sometimes all they need to get it ‘off their chest’, we don’t have to solve the problem, just listen.
I have had to be creative sometimes in how I communicate with some clients due to their health or disability or simply find them falling asleep whilst I am visiting, however it is worth the effort when they tell you how much your visit means to them.
Once I find common areas of interest with the client and we get to know one another better, it is lovely to know you have made a special friend, someone you probably would never have met without the ERA Program.
We as volunteers provide companionship and friendship to many isolated people who just need someone to talk with and when I see their face light up as I come into the room for my visit it is all the reward I need. Some of our clients have no family to visit them or family live a long distance away and can’t visit often, so we become just like family to our clients.
There is a sad side to making a special connection and lovely friendship with someone and then after a few years they pass away, however it is part of life and we have to expect it will happen some time due to their age. After a reasonable time or when you feel ready to visit someone else your Volunteer Visitor Program Officer, VVPO will find you another client.
ERA really makes me feel valued and one of a team and this is not always the case with other organisations I have found, so I really appreciate it. Our VVPO, Nalina arranges morning teas about twice a year so that the volunteers can meet and share stories. We all really enjoy a chat over a cuppa and cake and really look forward to it. We also have monthly Zoom meetings which give everyone a chance to ask any questions or report on any problems they are having and ask advice from Nalina or the team members in a very relaxed, non judgemental atmosphere.
I recommend volunteering in retirement as it gives a sense of belonging and purpose which sometimes we lose when we are no longer in paid employment. We as volunteers often gain as much satisfaction and pleasure out of the experience as the client we are trying to help.