Kindness and Compassion

Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion.
Dalai Lama

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have been volunteering these last few months with an organization that helps people who are homeless. I have been very impressed by the work they do, so I wanted to write a bit more about it. They are called The Simon Community and they are quite well-known in Ireland.

The Cork Simon Community runs a wide variety of projects. Firstly, they have an emergency shelter with 44 beds. They also have an outreach team working 7 days a week to target those sleeping outdoors, in squats, or in other rough accommodation. Thirdly, a nightly soup run offers hot food and warm clothing at various locations around the city. There are also 5 high-support houses which provide homes to people with physical and mental health needs. Lastly, the team I work with, Housing Plus, oversees people who have moved on to independent-living apartments or semi-independent flats.

Housing Plus is a very small team, currently made up of only a manager, two full-time workers, one new half-time worker, and myself. I am a full-time volunteer, but will be leaving in a few weeks. They also have a Social Work student who comes in one day a week, but she will be leaving soon as well since her practicum hours will be done. Essentially, this is a tiny team and they serve over 100 residents. The majority of our time is spent visiting the residents who live in a few houses around the city centre. We support them in whichever way they may need help. Some need company and someone to talk to, while others need help getting to appointments or assistance with paperwork and bills. Some residents want to be put in touch with other organizations who can help them get a job or take some courses. We also deal with a variety of emergencies that come up in peoples' lives related to mental health issues, addiction, budgeting trouble, etc. There are no boring days at Housing Plus.

I feel like a new and better person since I began doing this work. My coworkers are great. They are my new role models and friends. There is absolutely no better feeling for me than spending my days with people whose values are so similar to mine. It makes me feel a sort of automatic bond and a respect for them. And then there are the residents. Oh, how to describe my feelings about them? They are certainly a colorful bunch, and I would be lying if I said that I find it all easy or all gratifying, but I don't think I have ever learned so much from a group of people in my life. A few of them have made me laugh until I cried, and of course some have just made me cry. Some moments are so sad it is unbearable, and some are so full of hope and beauty that I can hardly believe they are real. Within the chaos, there certainly are moments of clarity.

I have tried to rewrite this post to make it sound less corny, but to be honest my entire volunteer experience at Simon up to this point has been an emotional one, and I can't find any other way to describe it right now, so I'm afraid this will have to do. Such is the life of an under-slept full-time volunteer!