A tear inside a volunteer

I started my first volunteering 'job' when I was 14 (I am 44 now). I have volunteered for organisations and individuals. I have volunteered in two countries. Recently I have volunteered in a place which made me question the whole idea. Today I have realised how much I actually do question it.

It happened when I left a grocery store and saw a woman sitting by the door and waiting for someone to put money in a paper cup standing in front of her. She looked sad, depressed, one could sense resignation. I know that woman. She was coming to the place I recently volunteered in. A place where she could take a shower, have her clothes laundered, receive other clothes and cosmetics if needed, eat a healthy meal and finally get sandwiches and fruit to go. And have it all served fast and with a smile. One day I saw her there taking another to-go package, asking for it in a rather claimant way, only to throw away other, perfectly fine and fresh food into a bin just a second later. I shared, with the organisation, what I saw and heard 'they do it, it is normal'. I was not convinced this should be called 'normal'.

Before I will go on I would like to emphasize that this article is not to promote myself or defend my choices. Also I shall not use names of nationalities, cultures, organizations etc. I write this because I believe that discussion about volunteering is needed, not because I wish to complain. I volunteered because I wanted to. Experiences from such times remain priceless, regardless of their weight.

According to European Charter on the Rights and Responsibilitties of Volunteers volunteer is:

a person who carries out activities benefiting society, by free will. These activities are undertaken for a non-profit cause, benefiting the personal development of the volunteer, who commits their time and energy for the general good without financial reward.

Scientists and spiritual leaders claim that such activities shift our focus towards others therefore help us in building compassion and respect. They also diminish anxiety or depression by having an occassion to have a share in a greater cause. Too often, in my volunteering path, I have felt like the definition above is where the image of and knowledge about volunteering ends. And yet, in Section II of the same document we read:

The volunteers are entitled to full protection of their human rights when carrying out the volunteering activity.

That quote comes from Article 2. In Article 10 we read:

Every volunteer is entitled to be treated according to the existing norms, principles, standards and goals of volunteering policies.

My latest volunteering adventure ended when I asked one of the beneficiaries not to shout. Immediately after that I was shouted at, with words 'you work here, you shut up and do your job'. I left my post asking a collegue to take over and went to relax, breathe and think for a moment. I knew anger doesn't work and expressed irritation may work like fuel poured into fire. So I ended up writing a short message about who I am in this organization, why am I there and that my position is unpaid. I translated it with Google to the language of a beneficiary, walked to him and asked to read the message. He smiled, said 'OK'. I understand there may be different opinions about whether my choice was correct and optimal. I hope though that we can agree that being shouted at and not being allowed to react and defend oneself is far from a healthy approach. After all if one cannot look after herself or himself, how is she or he supposed to look after others. So case closed. Or?

The local coordinator, part of paid staff, approached the gentlemen again, talked with him to inform me that I shall not approach him, it is not my task, I am not trained for it and I shall always ask paid staff for support. Two things here though. One: the gentleman received apologies. I received a question whether I believe I should be a volunteer. And two: I did not see anyone from paid staff running to the toilet to clean its floor covered with human excrement. That is when a volunteer came in handy.

Mr. Kevin Stiff, whom I don't know at all, wrote on LinkedIn: 'In my experience, volunteers may struggle to establish and maintain appropriate boundaries with the individuals they support.' Just below his words Mr. Benjamin Thompson, a mental health specialist, added 'it can be easy for some charities to use ethical dilemmas as a means of bullying.' There are numerous sources pointing out that volunteering can be mentally exhausting and without proper support a volunteer may start to question her or his skills. Also outside of the unpaid cause.

Susan Ellis, in her column in The NonProfit Times, mentioned that 'the problem is that the work of many nonprofit organizations, and specifically the assignments of greatest importance for volunteers, are often inherently risky. There is no way around this reality. In many cases, no one else wants to tackle the problem or reach out to a particular client group exactly because the work is hard'. And she later asks two very important questions: 'Are we willing to defend our volunteers and employees in court if someone tries to sue?'. And also: 'if we legislate that volunteers cannot be sued for their contributed services, simply because they are volunteers, what is the message we send about quality of care?'

I believe that these questions must be answered and put into policies, soon after transposed into real but easy-to-digest trainings, not only to papers carrying signatures under 'I hereby declare ...'. Otherwise the problem many organizations face, as mentioned by Melanie Lockwood Herman in her article 'Social Distortion, Personal Responsibility, and Reputational Risk', especially due actions of dissapointed, digitally fluent young people, may easily destroy organization's reputation. By a short tweet or even shorter, emotional Tik Tok clip. It seems to me, after what I have read in Internet, that organizations forgot long ago that volunteers are also their customers. If each and every job advert nowadays contains information about inclusion, office atmosphere, communication and most modern management methods than why are there organizations which believe that an unpaid role shall not be approached with a similar attitude and dedication? There are different kinds of volunteering and many of them are not less demanding than 9-to-5 jobs. Not reacting to bullying, aggression, behaviours clearly crossing social lines or organization policies does not only destroy the spirit of volunteering. It also sends a strong signal to the beneficiaries - do whatever you want. Shout, throw away food we give you for free, cover the floors of our toilets with what is left of this food. You won't be judged. But then it is time to rethink our expectations towards assimilation, inclusion, resocialisation etc.

Let me just summarize this with two quotes from the aforementioned, European document, Section III 'Responsibilities of volunteering providers':

The provider commits itself to creating the safest possible environment for the volunteer and to providing full information linked to the possible risks related to the volunteering activity. [...] ideally the volunteer provider should aim to have a quality assurance system.

Things happened fast after 'shut up' incident has happened. I was invited to a meeting, expressed my expactations for that meeting which were denied. And so there was no meeting. I was removed from communication channels after I shared my experience with other volunteers. And I was blocked on Facebook by the coordinator (sic!).

I do believe volunteering is generally good. It is always a life lesson. It widens perspectives, it teaches skills, it diverts focus to something greater. It nourishes mind and sometimes also trains the body. But if we want volunteering to remain exactly this we need to re-design it. Otherwise, young people will choose to focus on themselves only. And we all will only loose. Though after my last volunteering adventure I understand a bit better those who decide not to invest their time in such causes.