Volunteering.
That's what we do when we age out (aka: forgotten and ignored) of workforce usefulness. The entire older folks have amazing experience trope that's floating around to give comfort and succor to us old ones is a joke. A half empty joke with the other half being good intent of sorts. Sour grapes much? I'll embrace that. Still come on folks wake up and smell the embalming fluid. We're kind of in the way of so many others. Welcome to the age of invisible. (New book working title)
That being said, allow me your undaunted advocate of keep moving or die share. He has a pretty filled volunteer dance card or trying to do so. I cannot fall into ideating when I'm bored. Ergo check lists reign supreme which are really a costume ball equal to the Met Gala. Vapid but colorful. In all fairness there is much meaning and purpose to found in volunteering. (Is that damning with faint praise?) I think not.
You can read about my volunteering here, here, here (original shoutout to SchoolPulse), and here. There's this post which jumps into what I get from my volunteering efforts here. In all it is a complete and positive reflection on meaning and purpose to serve and support. It does not compare to the meaning and purpose you get kicking ass and taking names in your previous business life. Nothing does so, I'll take my current state of being as the best I got and the best I can give.
As a volunteer crisis counselor you do just that. Help those in crisis find space to be safe. To realize some calm and peace. To create safe positive space for them to share and feel hope going forward. It’s hard highly focused work and rewarding. It is less doing God's work and more as Carl Jung said “The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” Helping others accept themselves even when all hope is lost and they question their ability to survive moment. These are the heart pumping complete with adrenaline rushes moments. Truth be told that is my thing to be on the edge. I cannot say enough about how this work gives me meaning and purpose. As someone said "You work. For free." Which kind of says free market.
I wonder with crisis counseling if I am creating durable outcomes. I guess the best I can hope for is they are safe and have resources to help them in the future. Also for them to know someone was 100% focused on them for them about them to hear them. That's it in total: being there for those in crisis. The wheat are the texters. They nourish me. The corporate wrapper is chaff.
Then there is SchoolPulse. I found them months ago. SchoolPulse is a text-based platform for jr. high and high school students to speak up about their feelings and what is going on. The goal of SP is to boost the emotional wellbeing , individual awareness, and social competency of every student. This is done by texting them videos, podcasts, surveys, memes, SEL focused message a few times a week. Texting works. We know that especially with teens.
SchoolPulse is offered to schools, school districts, and parents. The data is clear, students need this support to help them navigate todays complex anxiety producing fear evoking world we live it. It is not crisis intervention though they will jump in when a crisis presents itself.
The magic of SP is that when I log in there are texting conversations that are responses to texts sent out. The majority of teens texting back are engaged in mostly benign moments of teen life. "I won a prize and I get to ride on the homecoming float. I never rode on a float and I'm nervous." How wonderful is that just this moment of teenness on full display. You respond with support validation and confirmation. Thus a conversation and connection with a teen living life. A connection which is the basis of humanity, connection. Of course we’re there and trained so we can respond to suicide, self-harm, depression, relationships, and more. They are teens tying to live their best lives ever in the cluster world we are leaving them.
Here is the amazing part of this or parts. The conversations are not closed. The teen that is having the average bummed out about grades day two weeks ago and today is feeling like self-harming we can read any and all texts between those points in time. That’s so important because besides what the texter wrote I can see what others volunteering wrote, see the texters responses, and keep the momentum of support/connection going without have to start fresh. The continuum of care and support is evident. To both of us.
Say a texter is in a tough or in need of more help. SP has the ability to contact the school counselors or principles and point out where they may need to give extra care to. This feels like 360 degree support done in small discreet moments of connection. Again my loop, core of humanity is connection. Humanity is kindness and compassion. SchoolPulse is doing something amazing and brilliant. Check it out
Check out SchoolPulse Resources page here. So much there so much. Not just for teens. Hell no, I use some of this for my darkness.