December holiday care support service

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Calling on all those compassionate hearts out there

Hi all my South African friends, colleagues and social media associates.

I have an inner urging to create a space and support structure for people who may be lonely or may not have a support system during the holiday period.

NB: The type of support I am referring to is about connection, listening and companionship. This will not be about any financial support of provision of food / basic needs. If someone is looking for that type of help, we can refer them to relevant organisations working within their communities. We would need to make it clear in the communication.

I am still contemplating how this could work or how it would look like, but I have the following ideas so far:

We have an open on-line gathering (via Zoom or FB live) on critical days such as Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve. New Year’s Day.

o This will simply be to create a sense of caring connection. A family for those who perhaps don't have one or where their family is where their suffering comes from.

o I need some ideas for what we can structure into the sessions. I can facilitate some mindfulness breathing exercise. I thought maybe someone could read some poetry. Also, if we have a musician in the house, maybe we could share some joy through music. We need ideas of things that we can do online that are about connection, sharing space, sharing joy.

o I think it is important that we keep it secular and not specifically make it about Christmas as we do not want to assume that everyone is Christian and we want to also be inclusive of everyone who needs support.

o In addition, often recovering alcoholics and addicts really struggle over this period. So, we would want to take this into consideration and not be sharing toasts and consuming alcohol during these sessions.

o We would need to be able to refer anyone who joins the sessions and that is struggling significantly. We would therefore need the contact details of the lifelines, etc. It would be great if we had some people in these sessions who are equipped to contain such cases.


We can also create a FB group where we have two types of members. 1) people who are willing to make themselves available as “supporters”. 2) members of the public who join the group so that they can reach out for support.

o My sense is this would be relatively random in terms of who connects with who based on who we as "supporters" are drawn to. E.g. A single mom feeling lonely could be supported by a single mom supporter or a recovering alcoholic could be supported by a recovering alcohol. Etc

o Once a connection is made, phone numbers can be shared via direct messaging.

o The supporters would possibly need to be able to call individuals needing support at their own cost. (Again, if the needs of the person needing support are beyond telephonic caring companionship, we would refer them to the appropriate support services).

One of the challenges is getting the word out there to people who may need this support. If there are digital marketers that can do some pro-bono awareness campaigns for this initiative, I would really appreciate it. Please share this communication to your contacts in this field and ask them to participate.

I also understand that because the approaches above use technology and need data, that we are not catering for those who do not have these means. However, I feel that we will still be making a difference where we can. Perhaps there are some other ideas that could reach the individuals who do not have access to zoom/FB meetings.

So lovely hearts, this is just an initial ideas dump to get some creative input and also to get a feel for who would be willing to give of their time and talents.

This time of year, can be really dark and lonely for many. If we are able to uplift some people and hold them safely through this period, this will be amazing.

Please add your input in the comments and also add the words “I’m in as a supporter”, if you are willing to be of service. If you are able to provide any other type of input, please indicate as such. You may also respond via DM or email if you do not want to respond publicly.

I am truly excited to receive your feedback and support.

Much love

Michael O’Rourke

[email protected]

#holidaysupport

#compassion

#care

#mentalhealth

Michael O'Rourke

Mindfulness Facilitator and Yoga Instructor

2 年

Hi all Here is a link to the Holiday Support FB group that I am creating. If you would like to get involved, please can I ask you to join the group, looking out for the joining questions and rules, and then start sharing with people who you think could participate. Much love Michael https://web.facebook.com/groups/426906565726168/

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