Youth/Teen Volunteers

[Debbie Hilton]

We are going to be starting a Youth/Teen volunteer program. I would like advice/help from those of you who use youth/teen volunteers.

[Frances Shani Parker]

You should first review the HVA's National Hospice Document Repository (NHDR) that Greg mentioned earlier. Some of your questions may be answered there. It may also have forms and other materials you can use. I'm not sure who you mean by "teachers" for the scout troop. If they are already professional teachers in a school system, they should have been checked already. Letters of recommendation are always nice to have.

Also, check this HVA post located at this website where I have listed a variety of student activities for students based on their grade levels:

https://hospicevolunteerassociation.ning.com/forum/topics/hospice-se...

Frances

[Debbie Hilton]

Thank both of you for the ideas and suggestions. I am really excited about getting this started. I have a Boy Scout Troop that wants to help with our patients. The adults have to have background checks done, I know I will need parental consent for the students, but should I also require background checks or letters of recommendation from teachers? I am not sure what I should require of the students. The ages of the troop range from 13 to 16 at this time. There will be adults that I will require to go through our regular volunteer training, but what besides the obvious should I do with the youth? (HIPPA, History, Philosophy, Infection Control, Death and Dying, etc... are what I am referring to as obvious)

[Frances Shani Parker]

Debbie, I'm a hospice volunteer and former service-learning school principal who supports intergenerational partnerships. Every child at my school (600 students ages 3--15 yrs.) performed service. I suggest the following activities for your consideration:

1. Provide students with background information on the elderly, typical hospice illnesses, nursing homes, what to expect, etc. This is a great opportunity for them to become involved in semi-sensory deprivation training. Simulations impairing speech, smell, taste, hearing, walking, talking, eating, touching, etc. help them really experience what patients are going through on a daily basis, and they provide great discussion. You can create these scenarios yourself:

a) Dried corn in their shoes to simulate arthritis
b) Gloves with taped fingers to simulate declining age
c) Smeared goggles to simulate impaired vision
d) Headphones to simulate background noise distractions that interfere with patients’ focus

You can read this post at my blog to get an idea of how this can be done and adapt it to your own young people.
http://hospiceandnursinghomes.blogspot.com/2009/02/caregiving-with-...

2. Add a research component to your project. I have a chapter on this in my book. At a very early stage of our intergenerational projects, we had students brainstorm about what they thought about old people and what they thought their experiences with them would be like. We made a list that became a research survey. Of course, they came up with the typical stereotypes: Old people are grouchy, nosey, hard to talk to, smelly, etc. We took survey percentages of how students felt about their opinions. This is an example:

Old people are grouchy. Yes % No %

After students completed the service project, they were given these same surveys to complete again. It was amazing how their opinions about the elderly had changed. In addition to their written and oral reflections (very important) about their service experiences, the survey results provided concrete researched evidence that students were positively changed. Students also learned more about research.

3. Be sure to emphasize that service is a win-win exchange, so students don't develop an attitude that they are doing all the giving and "saving" people. Also, be sure to provide adequate supervision at the site.

4. The most important factor is to make sure you meet with the service recipients and discuss and agree on what their needs are and how your group can meet them. It's surprising how many people assume they know what others need.

You are off to having a fantastic 2010! Have wonderful service experiences!

Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
“Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog”

[Greg Schneider]

Hi Debbie:

You should check out HVA's National Hospice Document Repository (NHDR). If you go to the Document Index, there are traing tools for teens that may be helpful. More info on the NHDR is below.

Resources for Hospice Volunteer Managers
HVA created the National Hospice Document Repository (NHDR) as a public service to the hospice community and the general public. This repository is the largest free-access collection of documents and articles relating to hospice and end-of-life care in the world. Some of the ways that this repository assists the community are:

• provides a venue for hospice volunteer coordinators/managers to share training materials, volunteer program descriptions, volunteer job descriptions, outreach brochures, etc. with their colleagues.
• to inform hospice volunteer coordinators/managers about resources available to them for making their jobs easier and assisting them in training their volunteers.
• to share articles and other types of information that would be of interest to the hospice community and family caregivers.

Greg Schneider
HVA President