Volunteers are the Rock
Although the theme of today's luncheon is "Volunteers Rock", I'd like to change that tag line just a little bit and say that "Volunteers ARE the rock" - the rock that Catawba Care is based upon.
I've learned that Catawba Care started back in 1994 by a group of people, who believed that working together, even outside the normal bounds of their jobs and duties, literally by volunteering their time and support, they believed that they could make a difference - a good difference - in the lives of people being affected by HIV.
I can easily imagine the people, and the situation they were in, who these original Catawba Care founders were trying to help. Not because I was one of those whom they were going to help, because I wasn't even living here in SC back then. I can imagine the situation of those here who needed help though, because of the situation I was going through myself back in 1994.
At the time in 1994, we (my partner and I) were coming up on my 32nd birthday in March, and we were also coming up on nearly 18 months since we had both tested positive and had already progressed to AIDS. Having taken AZT monotherapy for nearly 8 months (4 pills, every 4 hours, 24 hours a day), I was very sick and throwing up every day. Matter of fact I was so sick, that I chose to stop taking the AZT. I know that sounds like a terrible decision; but I was so sick that it was quickly becoming a rush to see which of us, between my partner and myself, was going to die first; and one of us had to stay alive to take care of the other one.
Back then, twice a month because there were no other medications, I was driving my partner the 100 mile round trip up to the Cleveland Clinic for him to participate in clinical trials - until they told us he was just too sick to be of any help anymore.
Every Tues and Thurs morning, rain, shine, or 24 inches of snow (I was living Ohio after all), at 7am I was waiting in line at one of the churches in town to receive a bag of free groceries.
You might have thought that applying for Social Security disability would have helped us out during such tough times; however, even though the thrush was literally eating Randy up and he had wasted away to 92 lbs, he was still turned down twice. We had been required to be in the Federal court in Cleveland when he was finally approved on his third appeal. Randy had wasted away so much, that although we had been the same size and shared the same clothes in our closet for a decade, I was able to literally pick him up and carry him up the steps into the courthouse.
His first disability check finally arrived a week before he passed away and I had to hold his hand and guide him able to sign his own name. Although I had been very glad to get that money and to be able to pay rent and the utilities, because Randy died on the 25th of the month and didn't live the "required" 27 days of the month, the government came without my knowledge and took the money right back out of our joint checking account - on the very day I was laying Randy to rest in his grave - which, of course, caused all those checks to bounce. Not only then did I have to pay all the bounced check fees; but the power and water were turned off and I had to pay reconnection fees to get those back on.
Sick as dog, nearly destitute as a homeless pauper, literally drowning in sorrow and grief from losing my partner, my helpmate, my other half for the last ten years of my life, waiting on the scientists to develop some new medication that might help me live a little longer, facing my own impeding death - that's what living with AIDS in 1994 was like. What a godsend it would have been to have an agency to have turned to at that time - a coalition, if you will, of people - doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors and volunteers all under one roof, all available to help me at a time when I could hardly take care of myself.
I know everyone in this room is glad that things have greatly improved from those kinds of conditions 16 years ago; and one of the reasons things have improved is because of the spirit that is within each of people in this room - the spirit of being a volunteer. Plenty of people have put in plenty of time, on and off the clock, trying to coordinate resources, arrange medical care, and anticipate the needs of people who don't even know how HIV is going to affect them and don't know what they are going to need.
Here in 2010, we have an arsenal of medications that can be used. We have specially trained HIV doctors and nurses. We have case managers able to wind their way through the labyrinth of government paperwork to help garner the needed state and federal aid. We have counselors that understand the effects of stigma and the post-traumatic stress from an HIV or AIDS diagnosis. We have activist staffers whose goal it is to educate the populace and hopefully prevent the further spread of this epidemic.
And filling in the gaps of this non-profit organization of dedicated people are the volunteers. When you're an organization struggling for the finances to assist people, to pay for competent staff, and to keep a roof over your heads for a place to house your services (or even a new roof over your heads), no job is too small and all jobs are very important.
The time it takes to stamp and send donors and potential donors your newsletter to keep them informed (and concerned enough to keep donating) is time taken away from helping a newly-diagnosed client figure out how to get stable housing. Although it would be time well spent manning the pantry giving clients the needed toiletries and household cleaning items, for a counselor that could be time better spent helping a long-time client deal with the stress of having lost so many loved ones to this plague.
Though I'm sure our prevention/education staff might like to, there's just too many hours in a day to stay all day at a SummerFest, Festival, or Health Fair to speak to every visitor - especially when they could be of better use using their training to administer a rapid test and perhaps counseling a newly diagnosed HIV positive person. And of course, it's much better having a nurse spent his or her time stabbing clients to get blood for lab work, poking clients with preventative flu shots and vaccines, or shoving thermometers into clients mouths, rather than being a glorified and overpaid taxi driver transporting clients to and from the clinic. Every job though, no many how small, that we volunteers do then gives valuable time back to the Catawba Care staff to do all those things that only a trained staffer can do.
Although no one comes to me when I have the exhibition booth set up at some festival and tells me that they used the condoms I gave them and they didn't get infected with HIV; although there's no way I would ever know that Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So who got the newsletter that I stamped sent us a contribution; although confidentiality issues mean I don't know who the case managers were helping while I was manning the pantry for 2 hours on a Friday morning; and although I don't know whether the clients I transported got flu shots or had to have a med change,
I do know that stamping those envelopes, wrapping up those condoms into our safer sex kits, handing out toothpaste or driving a client to and from the clinic is a much needed job as it helps Catawba Care do it's mission of promoting optimal health for York, Chester and Lancaster County residents by providing medical care and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS and by educating the community to prevent the spread of HIV. Our jobs may sometimes seem small but they really are necessary parts, filling in the gaps so Catawba Care can provide its services.
When I think back to 1994 and to the situation I was going through, I think about how much easier things could have been for me if there had been a coalition of people there to assist me with all the services that Catawba Care offers. Sadly enough, I don't even have to reflection back to the time of Catawba Care's beginnings to wonder if those services could have made my life easier. I only have to think back a few years ago, to 2008, when my second partner of 10 years suddenly became sick. Within one short month, he went from being "healthy" to finding out he had AIDS and three tumors of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. After 60 agonizing days in the hospital with nothing but treatment failure and nine days at home, he passed away. Almost exactly fourteen years to the date after losing my first partner, once again, I found myself bereft of a partner, having the car repossessed, and barely fending off homelessness. I can only imagine how much support Catawba Care might have offered to someone in my situation, and how much that could have lightened my load and helped ease my burden.
Unlike with other jobs, I believe that all of us here, staff and volunteers, are doing our jobs, because we are hoping to make a difference. And it does take all of us working together to make that difference in people's lives. It takes a dedicated director to not only guide us in new outreach ventures but to steer us in the day to day activities. It takes a knowledgeable medical staff to process our labs, prescribe the necessary medications, and to take care of all our aches, pains and health issues. It takes case managers to watch over us, to follow action plans making sure we get the right medical help, social help and counseling to help us deal with being HIV positive. It takes an energetic staff in education and prevention to propagate the message of how HIV is spread and how someone can keep from being infected. And it takes a solid bedrock of volunteers doing a laundry list of chores to facilitate the entire organization reaching all those vital goals.
On behalf of Catawba Care, I would like to thank all you in this room for all the various things you do, on and off the clock, paid and unpaid to help us be the kind of organization we need to be to help people with HIV - people like I was in 1994 and people like those who will show up in our offices this week needing our help.
And in my own behalf, I would like to thank the people who started Catawba Care and the staff today that carries on the mission. Not only do I want to thank you for the help you have provided me, but I want to thank you for the multitude of opportunities that you have given me, as a volunteer, to assist you in your mission.
Michael Bivens October 8, 2008 Catawba Care Volunteer Luncheon