A guest blog post from London Intercommunity Health Centre volunteer, José.

Good afternoon! It is a pleasure to share my volunteer experience with all of you. 4 years ago my family and I came to Canada as permanent residents. A Doctor in El Salvador, the country I came from, I was aware of the difficulties and challenges faced by newcomers, and since I was not able to start to work in my field, volunteering was an attractive option to keep myself in “the field”. I came to the London InterCommunity Health Centre (LIHC) looking for an opportunity to volunteer and help as much as I can to a population sector that for so different reasons are not reached by the “conventional” health care system.

So far, it’s been an interesting and rewarding experience. In the “Senior’s Home Visiting Program,” my job is to give companionship and help to immigrant seniors in the London [Ontario] Area. To be honest with you, it is not a simple task. They have grown and lived in different cultures, do things their way always; and facing a 180 degrees change in their lifestyle, from being fully independent to not being able to communicate is sometimes traumatic.

It is our mission to help in the transition of this culture shock. But most of all, we give them our time, a moment to share all their impressions and also opinions about life under their scope and, at the same time, both grow as people.

Through this program I have found an opportunity to give what I know in my field. The volunteer team, with all our backgrounds, have a huge potential and are able to make an impact in people’s lives. As a doctor, I try to understand the adaptive process my seniors are having and the different psychological challenges they face, and offer help within my boundaries and capacities. Identifying factors in their living space that can be potentially threatening given their specific condition, or identifying risk behaviors just by chatting, are examples of how one can change our senior’s perspective.

Volunteering is, as defined somewhere else, “the most fundamental act of citizenship and philanthropy in our society”. As my coordinator told me the very first day I applied as a volunteer, you should be sure it is the right time in your life for volunteering. Each of us volunteers, creates a relationship of care and compassion with our client (senior, man, woman, child), shares experiences, hobbies, and life itself. Without knowing, we are becoming part of a social network that works toward the benefit of the ones who need it the most, looking for no reward. Most of all, we are their first real connection to a community that will help them to achieve what they are looking for.

As newcomers, we came to this country, among so many other reasons, wanting to leave a mark, a legacy. For our clients, we have delivered it. To our families, we show with our actions that we care and bond with the community. To all my fellow volunteers, thank you for your efforts, and thanks to the London InterCommunity Health Centre staff, as we would not be here without their conviction and passion for help.

This guest blogpost was originally published in April 2013, in « Powered by Values », the weekly blog of London InterCommunity Health Centre (LIHC), with support from LIHC’s Seniors Wroker, Sarah Patterson. The Immigrant Seniors Home Visiting Program at London InterCommunity Health Centre is a program for seniors who find it difficult to leave the house and who may feel alone. Volunteers are partnered with a senior from the community. The partnership is based on shared language, hobbies and activities. Volunteers provide companionship weekly and can also support seniors to take the bus, go to a grocery store, do crafts or connect with other services in the community.

In honour of Volunteer Appreciation Week this is a guest post from one of the program’s very committed and passionate volunteers. Jose has been a volunteer with the Immigrant Seniors Home Visiting Program for more than 3 years and has been matched with two vulnerable and isolated immigrant seniors in the London community. Jose prepared this as a speech and shared it at LIHC’s Volunteer Appreciation ceremony on April 24, 2013. Thank-you to Jose and all of LIHC’s volunteers who continue to support the work , mission and values of the London InterCommunity Health Centre! Connect with LIHC on Twitter at @HealthCentre.