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The importance of volunteering
Posted Thursday 1 March 2012
Since I had my breakdown, I always wanted to put back into the system that I took from. I got support from a local Mind for my mental health condition and while seeking help I was able to see first-hand the wonderful work they do.
It wasn’t just me that was sat in the communal area of the local Mind: it was other people with different problems. I would look around the room and see people that were going through a rough time with depression. They were crying and explaining what was going on in their lives to this person. A person that you instinctively knew wasn’t there as a service user and wasn’t a member of staff, but someone who had spare some of their time to help other people.
I got talking to this person and they told me that they were a volunteer and that they gave one day a week helping out at the centre. She said that she never wanted any recognition for the help she does as all she looks for to make herself feel wanted or needed there is to know that she has helped someone in need. She never sought approval, acknowledgement or gratitude. How selfless is that?
So when I managed to get a roof over my head and was well enough to, I approached my new local Mind to offer some of my time for those who maybe going through similar to myself, whether this be mental health, addiction or homelessness – as these needs were supported here. I never wanted recognition. I never wanted praise. All I ever craved was to put a smile on someone’s face at the end of each day.
That addiction grew more and more, it was self-gratification which I never saw as a bad thing. People knew that they could approach me as and when they needed simply a shoulder to cry on, to get ideas on how to handle a situation or to help them play bingo on a Wednesday lunch time.
Then Christmas came along and you could see the levels of despair grow as it was the time of year where everyone is meant to be happy, joyful, be grateful for the things they have in life and spend time with their loved ones. Not everyone can enjoy Christmas though. It could be a time where bad memories are found or they do not feel that they are entitled to celebrate the occasion as they don’t deserve to, due to low self-esteem and self-worth.
So when volunteers would come and spend time at the centre to make Christmas more bearable it was greatly appreciated. They would come and arrange a Christmas party, bingo, raffle, meal out and the main highlight was the Christmas Day meal that was specially prepared for the service users who either had no family, didn’t want to be alone or felt as though Mind was their family.
The meal was fantastic with three courses, sparkling juices, crackers, music, cakes and chocolates – they were in their element. To me it felt like home, like Mind was my family, so I can only imagine how the service users felt. Then to top the day off, more than a handful of people could be heard snoring around the room – just like home.
Then the New Year arrived and the volunteers went about their own business or went back to work. The time that they spent at the centre was appreciated by all and friendships had been made – the impact was amazing. The regular rota of volunteers was back up and running and services fell back into place. The start of a new year sometimes doesn’t mean anything to the service users – it’s just another day.
Though there is something that can be said for the impact that the volunteers made over the Christmas period. Their time, effort, thoughts, involvement, smiles, hugs and bonds are something that is needed all year round as mental health isn’t just for Christmas.
A majority of the volunteers that came to help out over the Christmas period, and also the permanent volunteers throughout the year, all come from a background of mental health themselves. They either have a mental health condition themselves; or a family member or a friend has a condition. By helping others it can be therapeutic to someone in distress as it takes their mind of their pain and suffering, and makes them feel valued and wanted. In the long term, this feeling of gratitude can be rewarding and help with their own wellbeing and recovery.
Someone with mental health problems can fall ill at any time and require a smile or a hug even in the midst of summer and the bright days it brings. If you can spare time throughout the year, please volunteer. Even if all you can spare is a couple of hours – those two hours can make such a difference to a person’s life. You could also make someone smile.
Tracey Pallett
You can follow Tracey's experiences of living with a mood disorder on her blog.
13 Comments
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After reading your blog. I would like to find out voluntry opertunities in the Cannock/Stafford area
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Just be sure that no one knows you're a volunteer because if you're in receipt of ESA you can lose it as voluntary work makes you 'fit for work', and according to DPAC, the DWUK of which Mind is a member states "DWUK will not be directly involved in delivering sanctions. This will continue to be the role of the DWP via Job Centre Plus".
Voluntary work is now a risk if you are not in paid employment. -
Hi Stephen - I'm glad you found the blog useful. Would you be interested in volunteering for your local Mind/Mind shop perhaps? You can find both by entering your postcode in here - http://www.mind.org.uk/help/mind_in_your_area
Hi Mindreader - We agree that it’s a shame volunteering has become so tied up with benefits and sanctions. Without volunteers, we couldn’t continue to do our work. Just to clarify, although we are a member of DWUK we have not entered into any contracts with the Work Programme. We'd only do so if people were not sanctioned when their mental health was why they couldn't take part.
If you're worried about how volunteering might affect the support you receive, contact your local Mind or the Citizens Advice Bureau for personalised advice on your situation.
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Thank you for your comments.
Stephen, I come from that region myself and I know that there has been a big shake up with mental health day services over the last year, though you're closest Local Mind would be Mid Staffs Mind. I'm not too sure about Mind Shops. You can find details for Mid Staffs Mind and Mind Shops on the link the Eve provided above.
I know from experience that, like all other Local Minds I've been involved with throughout the country, Mid Staffs Mind are a very friendly and approachable bunch and I'm sure if there's volunteer availability there you'll fit in great! I wish you luck.
Hi Mind reader, I think it's important that with all work and volunteer work the first thing you should do is contact the relevant benefits agency for advice. Whether this be ESA, JSA, DLA or other state benefits. The last thing anyone would want is for your benefits to get stopped because of the voluntary work your doing.
While volunteering work is very beneficial for people's mental health, by not sticking to the benefit's rule that person's mental health could deteriorate if they are sanctioned. You must weigh up the pro's and con's with this.
I feel I was lucky as I was claiming Incapacity Benefit at the time this piece was based, so I was able to volunteer and work for less than 20 hours a week without it affecting my claim (via permitted work).
I wish everyone the best of luck with finding suitable voluntary work, that makes them happy and contributes to positive mental health.
Tracey
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I have the same concerns as mindreader above. In the first instance I would not contact the DWP or services linked to them on advice on volunteering. This has the potential to flag up a change of circumstances/condition. My experience of the DWP is to be able to take money away from claimants through a polarised view life. No I would advise people thinking of volunteering to first seek good advise from local independent mental health organisations with no vested interests in your benefit claim. Better still would be the advice from someone who has or is currently doing voluntary work as to how it affected their relationship with the DWP. Ultimately though, you will have to inform the DWP of any work you do paid or unpaid as benefit rules require this.
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I am in receipt of incapacity benefit and lower rates DLA for care and mobility. I had to to go through a really tough struggle to achieve what the appeals tribunal agreed I should receive through benefits. This was a number of years ago. However, I know with the new benefits regime all of this hangs in the balance from 2013. Through a very close friend who has truly helped me in stabilising my mental health, I have learned coping strategies. Through similar very personal support, I have been able to work for 4 hours per week for my local university in their library. This gets me in contact with other people at least once a week. The environment I work in is extremely safe (I wouldn't be able to do it otherwise) and all employees are required to undertake diversity training on an annual basis. There is a particular individual supervisor and personal friend whom I can go too at any time with any concern. This person is their for me with the assumption of advocate. I have had to use this person on various occasions to advocate for me against ignorance, prejudice and fear. Without this I would have been just another statistic that fell through the net. This is personal support that isn't available anywhere else I have looked at working. But I could not manage without this.
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The ESA medical and Volunteering is not compatible with anyone hoping to get into the support group of ESA.
Instead of telling people to speak to disability advisers why does MIND not explain the situation to any potential volunteers instead of passing the buck?
Explain time limitation, means testing, sanctions in respect of volunteering. MIND and all charities have a duty of care to all potential volunteers.
If
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I'm aware of people who have done voluntary work for their local NHS Trust and have been penalised as a consequence. If you inform the DWP, if you take any payment no matter how small, you will be penalised. If you declare any voluntary work you risk losing your claim, so Eve Mind will probably have to expect a loss of volunteers. Also a person's mental health will be irrelevant when people are forced off ESA onto JSA despite medical evidence, those individuals are expected to comply with any demands made of them irrespective of their mental health unless they are successful in appealing.
People have also been penalised for doing voluntary work which could have been paid i.e. as a one-off, as this is "refusing paid work"Welfare reforms are the death of voluntary work
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After reading this, as well as an interest in mental health. I was wondering where - chorlton-didsbury area - there's a mind that I can volunteer at?
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The benefits system exists as a Kafkaish nightmare. Volunteer and you could lose benefits what are people supposed to do? You would think the Govt would be pleased that those on sickness benefits do some voluntary work to benefit their communities and themselves. It seems that sitting at home all day, depressed is the way to keep your income.
I read somewhere that working class people had a distrust of the state and would only claim if they had no alternative. I can see why now, in claiming anything it seems to give the Govt carte blanche to brand you a scrounger, make the system unbearable and give them the right to interfere in your life. Lets not forget that many people were put on IB to massage the unemployment figures under Thatcher, now these people are being used as pawns and scapegoats for this recession. -
Hi Hannah, that's great news - thank you so much. You can find your nearest Mind by entering your postcode in here - http://www.mind.org.uk/help/mind_in_your_area Take care
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http://www.disabledgo.com/en/news
Unlimited unpaid work for the mentally ill and disabled under threat of sanctions. GP's are complaining now that they are inundated with people asking for help with ESA appeals so now the government want to make it much harder to appeal it seems.
What an embarassment to all those that are involved in the utopian dream of employment for the sick and disabled. On the other hand plenty are making large amounts of money out of it all. -
I found this site after looking into volunteering. After a year of trying I was finally offered 3 hours volunteering work in a office at my local council building. The duties entails addressing envelopes and inputting numbers onto a spreadsheet. I am on income support and DLA and my health is worse than ever at the moment I have severe mental health problems and diabetic complications and I am waiting to go into hospital and I am also a attending a court case as a victim of crime which has had a serious psychological affect and this is just the start! Rather than indicating I am getting better things are worse than ever and I want to be away from the home just once a week instead of dwelling on my problems.
I have had appalling problems with the Community Mental Health Team which I have had a solicitor dealing with and they are no support at all just a detriment so I need something positive to do but I think all things considered doing volunteering could make things worse and if I lost my benefit that would be the end of me for sure as I have no family to help me out. Years of ill health and the hell of being in the benefit system I think people should be aware of potential consequences of trying to engage in volunteering work. It is not the same as work in that you may be only to manage a couple of hours one week but not the next but it seems just even thinking about it leads to potential benefit sanctions.
There is no hope at all for sick and disabled people to even think of a better future when as Linda pointed out the poorest members of society are being used as scapegoats in this recession and penalised at all levels for even thinking of a way out or trying to become in involved in the community (e.g. voluntary work) you have to remain excluded or face the consequences.
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