Michigan's AmeriCorps Member Council - Posting #14

I am already a day behind and tomorrow has not even begun. I understand deadlines. Things make it or break it by deadlines.

No problem, no word limit, no pressure - I got this. But then I am overwhelmed. And then I am exhausted. There are too many needs and too little time in each day. The airplane oxygen mask story creeps through my mind – “help yourself before you help others.”

Then thoughts of those individuals and families I am helping through my AmeriCorps service plow through the thoughts of oxygen masks on airplanes. And then I think that -- even for just a moment -- if I am overwhelmed and exhausted, then how do they cope? How do they get out of bed everyday with the struggles and obstacles they face?

My name is Beth, and I am a first-year member serving as a health advocate in a homeless and domestic violence shelter for the Michigan Primary Care Association Community Health Corps. And, call me an idealist, but like the Ben Harper song I heard on my way home, I sometimes do believe I can change the world with my own two hands.

Some of my clients’ needs would, without a doubt, overwhelm and exhaust even the most composed and powerful of our great nation. This year of AmeriCorps service is not a job. It is of meaningful purpose and is a mission of service. I am getting things done to make other’s lives a little easier -- even if just for a moment, but perhaps, possibly, a year.

Today, I took a kind and gentle, 52-year-old man, possibly dying of lung cancer, to a consultation. They told him he has to get three more tests (including one involving a very big needle) to find out what’s wrong. He is terrified. He has worked the last ten years in a restaurant as an overnight cleaner, but was just laid off because he can no longer keep up. He has no income, close friends, or family. Fortunately, he has a roof over his head, just received state-paid health care, and his medical bills will be covered. I wonder who will take care of him if chemotherapy and radiation is necessary. I worry he’s going to back out of the biopsy.

A week ago, a young mother came to the shelter, after leaving the children’s abusive father in Las Vegas. She was staying with a distant relative a few towns away, which had also become an abusive environment, so now she and her three children, all under age seven, are with us for awhile. When they first arrived, after staying the weekend in a motel, they all became very sick and had to see a doctor right away. I took them to an urgent care, and the antibiotics were free at the pharmacy.

Other women in the shelter have confided in me they are worried about possible sexually transmitted disease infections. I am able to take them to the local health department to be tested and treated. Upon her request, I refer one woman to the local sex addicts support group and give her a bag of condoms. I worry about her psyche and children.

A young grandmother who may get custody of her four beautiful, happy grandchildren is able to go and see the eye doctor with my help. The three youngest and I read books and look at the fish tank in the waiting room while she is in with the doctor.

A sufferer of multiple sclerosis and domestic violence was able to count on me to provide support in the hospital when her middle daughter, age fifteen, just had a baby. It was a Sunday evening, during my favorite HBO show, but I got to hold this precious healthy baby boy, and think of how his life can be the at least a little bit better through the service of myself and others like me.

This year of service can be difficult at times, to say the least. You have to go with the flow and know you are making a difference. I recently overheard our shelter’s executive director say, “We really are the ER of the social services industry.” I believe this a great metaphor for what I do and what is expected of me. But I wouldn’t change a thing – I am experiencing more everyday than I ever thought imaginable!

And really, regarding Ben Harper’s song, at times I may only be working with one itty-bitty fingertip of my hands to change the world by helping attend to the overwhelming needs of these individuals. But with a life dedicated to service, and a commitment to serve my community and get things done for that ever-elusive Greater Good – I am starting to change the world – with my own two hands!

“My Own Two Hands” by Ben Harper

I can change the world
with my own two hands
make a better place
with my own two hands
make a kinder place
with my own two hands
I’m gonna to make it a brighter place
I’m gonna make it a safer place
I’m gonna help the human race