There is a little bit of healing in every kind endeavour.
Historically, healing took place in hospitals, in providing education, through the arts and music. As a congregation of religious women, we once did this by establishing hospitals, schools, and initiating programs for the arts, spirituality, and wellbeing. Today we look for ways to join with others in their outreach and service. And we have been blessed with wonderful partnerships throughout the local areas in which we live.
Two of our Sisters, grateful to be able to participate, highlight organizations where they see healing and collaboration.
Image: Unsplash/Alexander Grey
Palliative Care requires skilled medical staff and generous volunteers. Sister Eileen McManus, a retired registered nurse, has been able to return as a volunteer, to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre, after covid restrictions were lifted.
Her three-hour shift provides opportunity to “loiter with intent”, sharing conversation with residents and their families. When someone seeks a lengthy conversation about their illness, the volunteers are there to listen and offer comfort, without time limitations. Gratitude fills the space, both for resident and volunteer.
Collaboration: a fabric made up of the threads of those who provide the hospice space, those who administer care, and the many volunteers who make it a home away from home.
Sister Frances Baker volunteers at One Roof in Peterborough, where dedicated staff and volunteers offer wellbeing to people who are having difficulties coping with life in general. Some guests have lost jobs, others have an addiction problem, some are homeless, others cannot cope because of mental illness, many cannot afford to buy food that will make them healthy, some are teenagers having difficulty finding themselves, others have just been released from jail, and others have been discriminated against because of race or sexual orientation. And still, many others face a variety of social problems.
Image: Unsplash/youssef naddam
To survive on the street requires great ingenuity and courage: living in tents, or sleeping in cars or on the street, seeking shelter for warmth against the cold. Protecting their belongings is a major problem, and there are always safety issues along with all the challenges of daily life.
And so, Frances asks what are the root causes? Why are people falling through the cracks? Why is there not more prevention being done? Why in our rich country do we have people who are hungry? Why is there a lack of grants for Social Work? What future do children have whose parents find it difficult to cope from day to day? There are many questions but where are the solutions?
Collaboration is one small step in healing what ails our world.
Through the kindness of staff and volunteers the gospel becomes visible. The way the women and men who frequent One Roof treat one another and the volunteers reflects the healing power of collaboration.
One Roof – a shelter whose fabric is woven with the collaborative threads of staff, volunteers, and quests, together making a difference.
These are just a few examples of the ways we continue to build partnerships with others. Together we are stronger.
-Sister Loretta Manzara, csj
Header Image: Unsplash/krakenimages