Mental health awareness week: “Volunteering with VCHP reflects my belief of helping people and giving back to the community”

This year Mental Health Awareness Week (12–18 May) is focused on the power of community in helping us take care of our wellbeing. In recognition of this, OT asked members of the profession to share one of the communities that is important to them.

I’ve always wanted to do it and friends of mine have been volunteers. It is something that you always think you will find the time for eventually, but there was never the right moment. So, I decided that I needed to make the time for it.

Volunteering with VHCP goes back to the core of why I entered a career in optometry – looking after people’s eye health and wellbeing, and making life more comfortable for them.

I was quite nervous on the first day. In a VCHP clinic you see a wide variety of people and you don’t know what to expect – people can come in feeling grounded and looking for glasses, and others can be struggling with mental health conditions.

We learn to be flexible and to work with situations as best we can. As long as we can help them to see, we’ve done a good job. The clinic is varied – I might repair glasses, carry out eye tests, check people in throughout the day, and ensure the clinic is tidy and medical devices are in working order.

The biggest learning from my first day of volunteering was that sometimes people just want a bit of empathy and to be listened to. That in itself is probably the easiest way to settle someone who is anxious or apprehensive about being in a close environment and having their eyes looked at and their eyelids touched, which can be quite scary.

We have a great support system, both with the host centre and the other volunteers, who are a fantastic bunch. Everyone has a different personality and some come from an optics background while others don’t. A few of our volunteers travel a long way to the clinic – they could volunteer elsewhere locally, but they have given up their time and travelled to work in our clinic, which is really heartwarming.

Sometimes people just want a bit of empathy and to be listened to

We’re always mindful of one another and giving each other a hand – there are those that are better at computers and others that are better at repairing glasses. We are there to lean on each other and make the day fun for the four short hours that the clinic runs.

I have been in the profession for more than 25 years and had many different roles in my career – all of which have been uplifting, engaging, and satisfying. Volunteering with VCHP reflects my belief of helping people and giving back to the community.

I think it is understanding the need to give back to people who are on the fringe of our community. We can offer a form of support by providing spectacles so they can get a job interview, or just have someone to speak with, or know that we can provide a hot drink. It is humbling to be reminded that anyone’s life can change, and we are so fortunate in our day-to-day lives to have so much available to us – we can give back some comfort and kindness.

There are clinics across the country, and we are always looking for people to volunteer. VCHP are very flexible on how people can jump in, so I would encourage others, especially optometry students, to take a look, perhaps arrange to attend one, and see how it goes.

I am very grateful to be involved with VCHP. I think volunteering has changed my life and my perspective – increasing my gratitude and awareness much more.

*As told to Kimberley Young.