Volunteering at Hospice Lifts Spirits!

Visiting hospice patients is comforting for patients, families, and volunteers! At Harbor Light Hospice, volunteers visit patients each week and help in the office. Hospice volunteers are much different than most as the subject matter is difficult for many to internalize. But those who are able to comfort and care for others are rewarded with a wonderful feeling of helping others in a difficult time. Whether visiting the patient at a facility or helping at the office is helping the patient and family unit. Some volunteers have been with the organization for 3, 5, or 10 years, helping out in different ways. Most volunteers are students at college or university, either filing a service learning or clinical requirement of their programs. Other students want to see what hospice is like or have an interest in hospice as a possible career. The majority of the public is not informed about hospice or finds the idea "too difficult to swallow". Harbor Light, however, is very educational, teaching families and patients how to prepare for death, educating volunteers how to speak to patients with terminal illness, and providing education on hospice to students, nurses, and the public. Hospice has had a "makeover', and it is not about death and the end of life, but a means to comfort others and help get through some tough issues. Hospice is not the dark, negative portrayal it has had in the past, but a positive, ray of light that shines on all of those who take part.

For more information about helping in the Lemont area, call Harbor Light Hospice at 630-942-0100.