Service-learning at Erie Home for Children and Adults

Service-learning at Erie Home for Children and Adults

My service learning for this semester was through a volunteer service I offered to Erie Homes for children Adults Inc. I requested the management for a volunteer opportunity, and i was granted the chance on (day and date). The facility offers care and support to people of ages who are living with all levels of disability. The home is more than a hundred years old; therefore, it has offered community services to disabled people of Erie and its outskirts for an extended period. Their services include therapeutic and medical support to all resident clients besides taking care of their social, recreational, work and other aspects of their lives. I was assigned to accompany one community caregiver in his duties of that day and any responsibility requested by the staff at the facility. Beyond that assignment, I made sure to interact with other staff to learn more about the activities and services within the facility as well as other areas where volunteering services could be useful.

I was excited to have an opportunity to work in a home that takes care of disabled persons in our community. This category of people in our community deserves to live a productive and fulfilling life with the freedom to make choices about their life aspirations while residing in a friendly environment. I learnt through experience the duties of a caregiver, which majorly supports the facility’s vision of helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through their medical, therapeutic, social and recreational needs. A caregiver primarily participates in planning and executing personalized client’s programs of their daily needs. I learnt the importance of love and compassionate virtues in our society. Since most clients are dependent, they require support to accomplish their social activities or recreational tasks. As such, my caregiver supervisory guidance, I was able to assist a few clients in their nature walks, site seeing, among other recreational activities of their choice. The happiness on the clients’ faces was a measure of fulfilment I felt to have rendered useful service to them.

I appreciated their values upon realizing how religiously they implement them. One of their company values is determination. All their staff members ensure to get the required job done on time. This undertaking requires committed personnel corresponding to what was demonstrated by employees interacted with on that day. The facility advocates for trustworthiness. The staff are always accessible to offer the best service to their clients. My supervisor, for instance, insisted that I ensure to follow the client’s preferences. The other values include care and being proactive. Though the resident clients have varied needs, the staff ensure to respect every client as unique hence provide individualized quality care to each of them. Both the clients and staff of Erie Homes have been provided with the best environment resonating well with changes in the world.

I also learnt that we live in an ignorance society where disabled persons are taken as a burden and at times of lesser value to the community. The home has changed this notion by training their clients’ life skills useful in life. They are, therefore, less dependent as they can do simple tasks by themselves, which previously required the help of a caregiver. Just like other persons in our community, we need to let them choose their lifestyle, provide them with quality education and training to those with cognitive abilities to receive such skills. There is a great need for public awareness on how to manage support for people with disabilities in our homes or where necessary the need to find them a quality caregiver in a home-like atmosphere.

While people with disabilities live together in a home, they encourage each other. They fight the challenges in their lives with a common goal of living a happy and fulfilling life. This made me learn the importance of grouping and sharing.in the facility, although the clients are provided with individualized care, they grouped in cohorts of similar hobbies during recreational activities. This gives them opportunities to bond and establish relationships with each other through which they can share life experiences and aspirations. During the exercises, I assisted them in executing, I also learnt the untapped leadership qualities in me. I was able to coordinate them well and achieve a harmonious team-building exercise. This encouraged me to continue initiating activities involving groups of people since I gained confidence in organizing such events.

In conclusion, my experience at Erie Home for Children and Adults provided an opportunity to share the life of disabled persons in our community. The children and adults living with disabilities among us require our unconditional support for them to enjoy a productive and fulfilling life. We should provide them with a friendly environment where they enjoy all aspects of their lives without limitations. There is also a great need for public awareness about how to offer quality care to disabled persons and where necessary to seek facilities with trained personnel who can provide essential support. My service learning was so inspirational and educative. I intend to continue volunteering and encourage others in our society to reach out for facilities or homes in their communities in need of volunteer services.