How Volunteering Can Help Overcome The Health Crisis
I don’t know if you keep up with the news, but if you do, you will see that a couple of weeks ago the UK put out a call for volunteers to help the NHS (their health service). Within hours, they received over triple the number of people they expected to apply. It was in the hundreds of thousands. At the time of need, the country came together and, ultimately, it may help make the health crisis a little bit easier.
Obviously, we want as few people going outside as possible, particularly when it comes to the elderly. The more people that are outside, the easier it will be for the health crisis to spin out of control. Doing a bit of volunteering to collect multiple people’s medications and groceries can cut down the number of people outside by a whopping amount.
We can’t just think about the way in which the disease is spreading either. We need to think about the mental health impact that people are needing to deal with being cooped up in their homes at all hours of the day. Pick up the phone. Have a conversation. It may help somebody overcome the health crisis, particularly the elderly who may not have a lot of people to communicate with.
As you know, the world is pretty short of masks right now. While you are probably not going to be able to whip up anything of a hospital quality in the comfort of your own home, but you can make some reasonably good masks out of nothing more than a few old t-shirts (seriously, check out the CDC website for a few tips on that). You can wear these yourself, or you can distribute them to people that you know (make sure they wash the ‘mask’ before they put it on). This may actually make it a little bit easier for them to go outside.
If you can whip up something a bit more sophisticated, and there are a few guides online, you may find a few hospitals in your local area who may be willing to accept them. This is great for their staff. It will drastically cut down the risk of them contracting the disease, which means they can perform their job properly and do what they do best; help us get through this crisis.
Remember; you do not need to do anything grand in terms of volunteering. Even the smallest actions can have a big impact on somebody’s life. Help your elderly neighbor. Wipe down the doors in your apartment building. Just do something.