I do volunteer work once a fortnight with the outreach and friendship service for the homeless, Rosies.
Rosies is a really great organisation. Their main aim is to provide friendship to the marginalised, homeless, houseless and abandoned within our community. My “work” involves heading into the Brisbane CBD with the van for a couple of hours one night a fortnight and spending time with whoever wants to come and chat with us. We provide drinks (coffee, tea and milo) as a way of making everyone feel welcome. It’s also a really good way to warm up since it’s been so cold these last few weeks!
I feel really lucky to have been given the opportunity to talk directly to a group of people that I normally wouldn’t be able to. I have learnt a lot about people and circumstance and what makes people homeless and why they might choose to be that way.
Probably the most important lesson I’ve learnt so far was last Monday night during a debrief by our team leader. He talked about poverty and circumstance and how the lowest form of poverty is not a lack of money or roof over our heads, it’s more to do with not having any close friends or family. He was talking about loneliness. A lot of people that come and spend time with us on the street aren’t homeless, they live in a hostel. They come and chat to us because they’re lonely. This makes me so sad every time I think about it.
Think about your own friendships, whether you’ve got one close friend or 150, make sure you let them know somehow just how much you appreciate them. Friends and family are SO incredibly important to our wellbeing. I don’t have a lot of close friends but I have a few that are very special to me and I feel so lucky to have these beautiful, loving people in my life. I also have an amazingly supportive family which I value very much.
Send your close friends an email and let them know how much you care. They may think you’re a bit weird but hey, they’ll also probably really appreciate it too.
Oh yeah, and I know the image is crazy. I just thought it was too cute not to post.
Frances Kerr
Fran Kerr is the founding editor of High on Health. To cure your acne, sign up to Fran's FREE acne cure mini-course or download her latest how to guide, Eat Away Your Acne.
3 responses ↓
To beautiful Fran, we love you! Gillian & Mark.
I’m sad to hear that some people don’t have what others may take for granted. It’s really easy to get caught up in lifes dramas and blame those around you. I can’t imagine not having my close friends and family to talk to and act as a support system to get me through my ups and downs. It’s so easy forget just how important friends and family really are.
Such a beautiful blog Fran! xo
I love you too Fran! We all do! Nice post about being grateful for the many, many blessings we have. Will
Leave a Response