For my community organization project, I will be writing about my experiences volunteering for the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation. As a non-profit organization, the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation runs the Dr. Peter Centre located on Comox Street, which is right behind St. Paul’s Hospital. In brief: HIV/AIDS stand for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. HIV is the virus that initially attacks one’s immune system, while AIDS is the final stage of HIV (“HIV/AIDS”, n.d.). A bit of background information: Peter Jepson-Young was a Vancouver-based physician that was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in September 1986 (“About Dr. Peter”, n.d.). Eventually, he became too ill to continue practicing medicine. In 1990, he started to produce a series called the Dr. Peter Diaries, which aired over CBC News Vancouver at 6. Through 111 episodes over the final two years of his life, he sought to educate viewers on HIV/AIDS from a more “human point of view” by introducing “a name, a face, an identity” (Jepson-Young 1990). All the episodes are archived on the CBC website. In 1992, Dr. Peter created the Foundation before he passed away.
Today, the Foundation runs a Day Health Program that runs from 9am-3pm. Some of the services they run includes counselling, music/art therapies and food service. Additionally, there is a Specialized Nursing Care Residence Program and an Enhanced Supportive Housing Program (“Programs and Services”, n.d.). As a General Residence Volunteer, I spend two hours each week at the Centre. Essentially, my role is to provide companionship, as social support is key for coping with stress and is a buffer for physical health (Heine 2013). Since October, I have taken residents out to various appointments at St. Paul’s, accompanied them on coffee runs to Tim Hortons, walks within the neighbourhood, and socialize with them within the Centre. There, I have played played board games, help with light cleaning, and assist the residences in some tasks they may need help completing.
I happened to learn about the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation through the Trek Program at UBC. Basically, the Trek Program offers placements for volunteers to engage in community learning. While looking through the list of organizations available, the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation caught my eye in particular. I spent a great deal of time looking up some of the background history on the foundation and Dr. Peter himself. I watched quite a few of his segments that were aired on CBC. Not personally knowing anyone affected by HIV/AIDS, I was quite surprised to see the physiological effects it has on individuals. So far, this has been quite the experience. This is the first time I have volunteered within a healthcare setting, and there is a bit of a learning curve. Although there are practical things like learning how to push a wheelchair (it can be more challenging that it seems), there are some things that take some getting used to. Being a healthy 20 year old, it was (and still is) a bit difficult to gauge how individuals living with HIV/AIDS are physically affected by the disease. From what I have observed thus far, patients walk significantly slower, become tired more quickly, and require help in some of the more basic tasks. Even within the building, some of the residents use walkers or wheelchairs to move around. The other challenge of volunteering is learning how to interact with the residents. A couple of them are very sociable, and are more than happy to be talking or playing backgammon with me. However, the majority of the residents carry some type of emotional baggage from low socioeconomic status, substance use, or past trauma. I am still learning how to interact with them, as I don’t want to put a label on them and treat them any differently than I would with other people. However, I also don’t want to be too intrusive and bring up anything they may be uncomfortable about. Having spoken to other volunteers and nursing staff, they tell me that it gets easier over time. Until next time, I will continue to make my weekly trips downtown every Tuesday afternoon.
References
Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation. (n.d.). About Doctor Peter. Retrieved from http://www.drpeter.org/about-us/legacy-of-dr-peter/
Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation. (n.d.). Program and Services. Retrieved from http://www.drpeter.org/dr-peter-centre/programs-and-services/
Heine, S. (2013). Mental Health [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://elearning.ubc.ca/connect/
Jepson-Young, Peter. (Sept. 10, 1990). Dr. Peter Diaries: An Intimate Portrait [CBC News Vancouver at 6]. Vancouver, B.C.: CBC.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.). What is HIV/AIDS? Retrieved from http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/what-is-hiv-aids/
