Services for People in Crisis: My Experience with Imagine Global

Written by Anchal Edited by Maeve Hogan

Many types of crises can occur within an individual’s home such as unpredictable mental, financial, medical, or social health stresses. Imagine Global aims to alleviate some of these issues by providing practical support and services with the help of volunteers. For example, if a client is struggling to maintain their backyard due to their physical disability, our home crisis officers will reach out to willing volunteers and lend a hand in maintaining the garden for them by organising visits to their home.

This non-profit organisation aims to complete any household task as long it does not require specialist knowledge and can be achieved by an ordinary individual. The home crisis support officers strive to create non-judgmental connections with the clients and provide them with a stable source of emotional support.

Seasonal tasks to surprise a family member

Most of our job is gardening, so have to be cautious in summer time!

I started my experience with Imagine Global as a placement student. Getting to know the clients and their situation is very emotional, but after the home visit, we were relieved by the happiness we saw on the client’s faces. The visits demonstrated how a little support from others can be monumental to others.

Basically, as home crisis support officers, we were responsible for managing and communicating the needs of the clients to the volunteers while providing a non-judgmental relationship with the client. We started each house visit by introducing the volunteers to each other and the client and then explaining the purpose of our task. Before starting, we made sure to demonstrate the safety risks of the equipment and equally divide the work between the volunteers.  Afterwards, we would debrief the volunteers on their experience with the house visit.

Helping out even with the basic needs.

Determined, even if the job looks too difficult!

Depending on the client’s needs and our volunteer’s capability to help, we would assist clients with primarily household chores and gardening. During one of our recent home visits, a client, who recently fell on hard times, requested assistance with home repairs for an upcoming inspection. The volunteers supported the client during their inspection by completing housework chores and attending to the client.