(no subject)

[rivka]

My clients are struggling with a lot of the same issues I am right now. Except in some ways their sense of helplessness is worse. I keep hearing again and again: "I can't even donate blood."[1] One said to me, "I'd go [in the army] in a minute. I've got this virus - I'm expendable. But they wouldn't take me." And most of them don't even have any extra money they could donate. It's hard.


[1] I mostly work with people who have HIV or cancer.

Comments

ways to help

[(Anonymous)]

check out http://www.dc-cares.org/Volunteer/EmergencyHelp.htm

it lists some traditional things for people to do to help, and a lot of non-traditional things (like send sympathy cards to the families). i don't know a lot about your clients, but i think they might be able to find some things that they could do on there.

--betsy.

Re: ways to help

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Oh, cool! Betsy, thanks. The cards are something even homebound patients could do. I'll mention it to the person who does the clinic art therapy group, too.

When professionals think about the needs of people with chronic problems, we tend to overlook things like the need to be useful, or the need to help others. I'm really getting an appreciation this week of how important it is to meet those needs.