Why our hospice volunteers are so special
By Anne Shabason Volunteer & Education Director, Hospice Caledon

It takes a special person to be a volunteer but it takes an amazingly special person to be a Hospice Caledon visiting volunteer.

Hospice Caledon supports individuals and their families who are living with life threatening illnesses or a grieving a loss. That means that these fearless people volunteer to go where most of us fear to tread - into the very emotional core of someone's anger, grief and pain. What kind of person actually volunteers to do hospice visiting?

A good hospice volunteer is forged from two cooperative elements; an appropriate personality and the right training. Hospice volunteers are usually emotionally centred individuals with the fabulous ability to listen well without having to talk about themselves. They are the friends we all go to when we need to confidentially vent our feelings; the friends who we know will listen without judging and will not be afraid to walk alongside us in our pain. A great hospice volunteer knows intuitively that each of us has his/her own personal "holy ground" irrespective of race or religion -a place where we find meaning and truth. When illness and death touch us, our holy ground is the place where we can find comfort and the place to which a good volunteer can gently lead us.

Many of our volunteers are "called" to this work after their own personal brushes with trauma and tragedy and find that their experiences deepen their humanity and help them better relate to others in similar circumstances.

Although many caring individuals find their "calling" in hospice work, the Hospice Association of Ontario recognizes the necessity for a thorough 30- hour training program. Even in a close and wellfunctioning family, the effects of stress, fatigue and worry can be devastating in the short and long term. Unique issues that arise in a family dealing with illness and grief might include interruption of daily routines, pain management, fear of the unknown, dependence on others, worry for the future of self or family members, search for life's meaning or loss of faith. Through their training, hospice volunteers are taught to recognize signs of these worries even when they are not spoken aloud and help the individual or family come to terms with them.

Above all, they understand that their finest contribution as a volunteer is to put their own egos aside and to lovingly help their client families in the way that the families want to be helped.

The job description for a hospice volunteer might read, "Wanted, a thoroughly grounded, flexible individual with the patience of Job, a physician's confidentiality, a clairvoyant's sixth sense, a mother's selfless love and an angel's desire to serve." Miraculously, they actually

volunteer for this position! If you think you might be one of these special people, Hospice Caledon's next training runs the weekend of Sept. 29 and 30 and the weekend of Oct. 13 and 14. For more information, please call Anne at 905-951- 3534.