Why are life stories important?

There are things in the world that most folks just don’t think about.

Maybe till it is too late.

Janella Hodgson records the life stories of people as they approach the end of their life. Maybe they are terminally ill, or maybe they are simply aged and worn out.

She is a volunteer for Eastern Palliative Care, which is an organization that provides Palliative and Hospice services.  These include home and nursing care  to recording and transcribing the stories of people who have moved beyond medical help.

People want their story told.  You'll find out their motivation, their reactions, and why Janella wanted to be a voluntary biographer.

You'll find answers to the question “Why are life stories important?”.

Interestingly, for the biographer a successful outcome for their work is not necessarily a published biography, nor is that the over-riding purpose of this program. But you are going to have to listen to the interview to sort that out.

Eastern Palliative Care is always looking for more biographers. They provide effective guidelines and comprehensive training to their volunteers to ensure their clients are safe and respected. This is obviously not something that appeals to the masses, but if you are one of those special people with empathy and a few skills, you can find more information by clicking on the link below and working your way to ‘Volunteers’ which you will find under the ‘Supporting EPC’ tag in the menu.

And as an aside, you may be able to contact a hospice or palliative care agency in your area to see if they are looking for volunteers to do this type of work where you live.

What do you think about these types of programs?  Is this something you could do?  Have you told your story yet?  Did your loved one get to tell his life story?  Let us know in the comments below!

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