Volunteer Explorer

What was I so worried about? No law suit has befallen me; no legal notices have arrived in my mailbox. In fact, Zully arranged for me to accompany her to another client's doctor visit this week. I really need to calm down and stop being so paranoid. Though I still haven't heard a peep out of Mary, so there could still be another shoe hovering over my head. In the meantime, however, Zully and I are business as usual. Zully and Carlita, Kieletta's mom (not their real names), talk softly in Spanish while Kieletta and I make faces at each other. Kieletta is thirteen and has Downs Syndrome. She and her parents moved to Akron from Puerto Rico about two years ago, seeking better treatment for complications that had arisen from Kieletta's condition. Puerto Rican doctors had said she had Multiple Sclerosis, but the physician here said it's something called Downs Syndrome Dementia. To me, however, Kieletta seems like a pretty normal Downs kid: a little shy, but warm an...

It has been one full week since I sent Mary the message detailing my plan to write about Zully. It has been more than a full week since I talked to Zully about it. Not a word from anyone. The silence is deafening. I feel like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. This is a lot like the time I told my parents I was spending the night at a girlfriend's house, then went to stay with the family of my boyfriend, who was spending the night in county lock-up for amassing unpaid parking fines. How could I have known that my mother would get sick and call my girlfriend's house to ask me to pick her up? My mother never got sick! Once I knew that she knew, I had to wait several hours before confronting the situation, because I had to attend graduation exercises at the high school and do some other stuff. The waiting and worrying was much worse than the actual confrontation, ensuing argument, and punishment. I don't remember the fight: it was one of many that final year in ...

"I agree to keep confidentiality regarding the clients and family members of CCCS/SC (Catholic Charities Community Services of Summit County) programs. I understand that discussion among staff members regarding client's (sic) needs is a necessity for quality care, but I agree to keep discussion to staff/members of CCCS/SC only. I understand that a violation of this Confidentiality Agreement will result in immediate termination of volunteer experience." Sheesh. Talk about a kill-joy. So what do I do now? I talked with my mentor, who has a healthy amount of experience in journalism prior to entering academia. He counseled me to take down my most recent blog post, which contained sensitive medical and personal information of a client whose real name did not appear in the blog, and to stop writing publicly about anyone whose permission I do not explicitly have. Good advice. I removed the post this morning. He also suggested I talk with my volunteer supervisor as soon as...