The Cranbrook/Kimberley Hospice Society welcomed four new volunteers to the organization after a presentation at city hall on Friday afternoon.
Cranbrook Mayor Lee Pratt congratulated the four new volunteers, who will be joining the organization to support and listen to clients and families by being a compassionate presence.
Jeanne Davidson, the coordinator of the society, said the new volunteers had just completed training and will be put to work within the program.
“Compassionate listening is really what the hospice is all about,” Davidson said.
“…The front end is companioning someone with a life-ending disease and they follow that client wherever they are, whether they are at home, a facility or the hospital…they will follow the client through their end-of-life journey.”
The society, which provide their services for free, can be seen at work in Cranbrook and Kimberley, offer client and family care visits, vigil services phone support and bereavement support. Other services include a walk and talk program, where volunteers and clients who have experienced a recent bereavement go for a walk.
Further services include a rainbows program, which is for elementary-aged children who have experienced a recent loss in their lives, either through separation, divorce, death, or a move to a new community.
The society has roughly 35 volunteers in Cranbrook and 10 in Kimberley. In Cranbrook, hospice volunteers can be found at client and family homes, the Green Home and the East Kootenay Regional hospital. In Kimberley, volunteers are also out in the community and at The Pines—the Kimberley Special Care Home.
Davidson notes that volunteering with the hospice society can be tough, given the nature of what clients and families are going through, but adds that volunteers can also see the positive things as well.
“People are probably their most ‘real’ at their end of life. So it’s most rewarding to be a part of that experience with a client,” Davidson said. “…You’re being with people who are dying, but really, they’re living. They’re living their finest in some ways during that time.
“Watching people through their grieving journey is challenging as well, but being able to companion the families and friends through that is rewarding, because you see that growth as they move along.”
To get involved with the Hospice Society, or for more information, call Davidson at 250-417-2019 or visit their website at www.ckhospice.com.