The Service-Learning Project

Entry 1 

I chose to volunteer in a mental health facility, Integrated Life Choices (ILC), due to a desire to help the vulnerable population in the community. My interest in mental health started in my childhood days when my neighbor was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Other than medical intervention, there was no additional support available at the time, which increased the impact of this condition. This was a difficult time for everyone, but it made me determined to help individuals struggling with mental conditions. As a result, I developed a desire to help deal with the mental health condition by helping to fight stigma and facilitate recovery for the patients ( Taylor et al., 2013).  

My service-learning project took place at the Integrated Life Choices workshop Vocational cite, working with individuals that mentally challenge. I became a volunteer to get involved in the community and make a positive in the lives of people and acquire a better quality of life. I have always had an interest in helping people with disabilities, especially those who have mental conditions due to the stigma attached to the disease. Mental health is an important issue all over the world that increases the costs of healthcare. However, there is still much work to do in combating pervasive social stigma, discrimination, and low quality of life. A majority of people with mental health conditions do not have access to adequate care, with the stigma preventing them from seeking help ( Putnam, 2000 ) . 

The volunteering project provided an opportunity to apply what was learned in class to specific tasks outside of the classroom by helping others. The program was an excellent opportunity to integrate with the community and learn through experience by working with individuals with mental health issues. The volunteering program entailed sharing time with people and bringing a new form of life to their lives ( Putnam, 2000) . It created an opportunity to interact with other people and develop professionally in the areas of service, communication, and being flexible in different circumstances. 

Entry 2 

This service-learning project was a chance to apply what was learned in class to specific tasks outside of the classroom by helping others. The project allowed me to actively participate in a service that meets community needs while assisting in civic and corporate responsibility ( Bellah et al., 1996 ) . The service-learning project at ILC relates to several course objectives learned in class. These objectives related to offering education in a collaborative learning environment and encouraging the development of personal competencies, 

The first objective was reflecting the relevance of the values discussed to the work and own life . The service-learning project was essential in understanding how I can use my skills to help the needy in society. The volunteer program provided an opportunity to know how to use the knowledge gained in class to improve the quality of life for individuals with mental sickness ( Bellah et al., 1996 ). This was more about growing personally and professionally in the areas of service and helping others to grow. The program equipped me with personal and professional skills that will benefit my future life and career development. 

The second objective that applies to his service-learning project was assessing the impact of significant changes in modern society on the work and personal lives . It allowed volunteers to take active roles in helping people with special needs purse different goals in their lives. The opportunity to interact with the needy in the society was perfect to learn and develop skills of social service ( Bosin & Roots, 2004) . Mental health is especially crucial in the community, with millions of people experiencing the condition without adequate access to medical care. Several learning projects were done between this service-learning project, and the course objectives addressed in class. The volunteering helped achieve the aim of preparing for life, work, and service, offering an education in a collaborative learning environment, and encouraging the development of personal competencies ( Bosin & Roots, 2004) . 

There were several connections between my service-learning project and the themes addressed in class. The volunteering program touched on the benefits of changes in race and gender equality for the individual and governance . For example, the instructions on service provision were directly exemplified when helping individuals with mental health conditions get a better recovery of their situation and return to healthy living. The applicability of human dignity and equality became abundantly clear from working with the needy in the society who showed that they require support from all areas of the community. At the same time, this volunteering problem helped to foster civic and corporate responsibility ( Bosin & Roots, 2004). 

Entry 3 

My job volunteering at the mental health cites involved working with the patents by assisting them in getting medication as well as a personal performing program. I had full access to individuals to perform several functions such as cleaning the workshop and perform basic chores, reminded of their medication time as well as interact with them during their alone time. In essence, I was engaged in helping individuals acquire a better quality of life by providing counseling and therapy services, as well as spending time with them to beat the isolation ( Etzioni, 2012 ) . 

The bulk of my time during the volunteering program was spent interacting with the patients and providing all the needed support that will improve their lives. I got an opportunity to share my passion and experience with those in dire need through encouragement and spending time together. My work as a volunteer involved providing support to the individuals, take them to clean churches, restocking Bibles as well as helping to ensure that the facility is running cleanly and smoothly for Sunday’s service. This allowed the mental health physicians to focus on the patient's health and continued wellbeing. 

Furthermore, my job as a volunteer involved ensuring that the individuals get access to social services and the needed resources with greater equality ( Bloom, 2015) . This entails providing resources that are culturally and gender-sensitive, as well as ensuring the help provided to the individuals is holistic. Holistic approaches to mental health take into account the social, economic, and cultural factors surrounding the person that contributes to the condition. This means the treatment and support foes not focus on the patient alone but considers the environment around the patient, such as the family members. It entails helping friends and family members understand how to handle and individuals with mental illness to facilitate recovery. 

I also learned that volunteers are vital to health facilities to fill the gaps in care and fostering close connections with the individuals who are going through the hardest periods of their lives. They are a crucial member of any community seeking to help the vulnerable and needy and provide them with a better quality of life ( Bloom, 2015) . The whole essence of the volunteer program was about the individual's care and compassion while putting a smile on the individuals. At the end of the volunteering program, I helped the individuals get a better comforting environment that would support their recovery. 

Entry 4 

This volunteering program was the first time I interacted with mental need patients, which made it both exciting and challenging at once. This was an excellent opportunity to interact with the patients and experience how the mental health condition defines their lives ( Davenport, 2017) . It was also a chance to understand the challenges that individuals with mental disability experience in a health facility and participate in providing the needed support. Walking into the building can sometimes be an intimidating and depressing experience watching the hopelessness of people's situations. This was a problematic moment seeing many people in despair as they grapple with their mental health and try to recover from the monster's condition ( Taylor et al., 2013) . I could not feel like I could handle my emotions, seeing people with such requirements. However, over a few weeks, I let my compassionate nature take over and began to form bonds with the individuals that would lead to a long and exciting relationship. 

There is an overwhelming need for mental health in the community due to the stigma attached to the condition. Such individuals are consumed in hallucinations and delusions that make them unable to communicate their needs. As such, they need someone who can identify what they need and engage them in coping with the issues. An essential part of communicating with mental health patients is allowing them a chance to bring their concerns to the surface ( Davenport, 2017) . I got a different perspective of life from engaging with those whom I worked with at Integrated Life Choices. I was able to see what is missing from their lives, which includes the physicality, mobility, energy, and youthfulness associated with a healthy person. 

Most people who discriminate against mental health conditions do not understand how much it means to the Individuals or the amount of despair they go through while in these programs ( Taylor et al., 2013) . The patients were appreciative of the effort and supported offered to stay and help them deal with the mental condition. 

Entry 5 

I gained several skills while engaging in the volunteer program while obtaining hands-on experience. Giving to people has been shown to protect the mental and physical health of a person by reducing stress, combating depression, and keeping a person that stimulated. Reports have shown that the more a person volunteers, the more benefits they experience. At the same time, the volunteering program increased my knowledge and skills on how to interact with mentally challenged individual. I got an opportunity to meet new people, learn new skills, gain experience, and improve my self-worth. In essence, meeting new people at the ILC vocational cite developed my social skills and increased my social network from interacting with other volunteers ( Kluger, 2007) . 

Communication skills improved during this period because of the requirement to communicate with mental health individual. This was a facility comprising of people from different cultures and demographics backgrounds, with some speaking a foreign language, sign language also nonverbal individuals. It was thus an opportunity to learn a new language, connect with people from different cultures, and become immersed in a new culture that changes the perspective of life. Interacting with individuals with mental conditions requires one to be proficient in both verbal and non-verbal communication. It also calls for being more culturally proficient and understands aspects that can be considered undesirable when interacting with mentally challenged individuals ( Kluger, 2007) . 

Working with mental health patients was a great experience to learn and experience their lifestyles while in the day program. For example, I experienced how most of these people fall into a mental breakdown and may attempt acts of self-harm due to the severity of the condition. Most of them exhibit extreme levels of depression and anxiety that affect their ability to coordinate events on their own or communicate with each other. I learned new skills and gained experience in the areas of social network and skills from interacting with patients and other staff in the facility ( Putnam, 2000 ) . 

Entry 6 

The volunteer program revealed the stigma that people with mental health clinics face in their struggle to getting treatment. The stigma attached to mental health often affects individuals with the condition who miss out on getting help and treatment. Interacting with the individual showed how the negative perception attached to mental health had changed the health and wellbeing of the individual. Most of them are still afraid of requesting for help and prefer being on their depression state. At the same time, I saw how individuals with mental illness often wallow in isolation and prefer staying alone that interacting with other people. Some fear being judged for their mental state and prefer not speaking about their experiences ( Berkowitz, 2010) . 

Interaction with mentally challenge individual revealed how they struggled to get the needed help due to the negative perceptions of the condition in the community. People living with mental health problems experience difficulties creating and maintaining meaningful social connections ( Putnam, 2000 ) . This difficulty means they tend to have fewer social networks when compared to individuals without mental illness. The social networks are often restricted to other peers with psychiatric conditions, family members and mental health professionals 

Stigma towards mental health is a significant barrier to treatment and prevention and pushes patients away from seeking help. The negative perception is real, painful, and has implications on the effectiveness of treatment. At the same time, this stigma is associated with lower quality of life for individual with mental illness, since such people rarely seek treatment and often live in fear and mistrust. The stigma has affected many people by preventing them from seeking medication and talking about it to their family and friends ( Maxwell, 2018) . Many patients were facing depression and anxiety but hardly spoke about it due to the stigma. 

I learned how many mentally ill patients miss out on medication and treatment because of refusing to speak out. They lack someone they can speak to during their worst state or someone who can bring encouragement and positivity in their lives ( Tomasello, 2018) . At the same time, the mentally challenged individual fear being judged or attacked due to their conditions, which sends them to valleys of isolation and depression. Most patients are afraid to call for help due to fear of ridicule from even some physicians and health care providers. The stigma is caused by several issues, including cultural beliefs and lack of knowledge regarding the condition . 

Entry 7 

Mental health is a social justice issue because of the many challenges that patients with the condition face . Individuals with mental illness face problems accessing social support employment and job security, and are a vulnerable population in society ( Etzioni, 2012) . Providing support to patients with mental health conditions is one way of dealing with social injustice. I learned that a majority of people with mental disability conditions are between 15 and 44 years, with most of the issues related to severe depression also birth defects. Some of these are conditions are uncurable and some can be maintained. But individuals can continue to suffer from to negative perception. The effectiveness of this treatment program is for individuals with mental health illnesses to seek early interventions when the symptoms have not spread to greater heights ( Tomasello, 2018) . 

The volunteer program provided an opportunity to meet new people sharing the same interest in helping mentally ill individual. The interaction with mental health individual helped maintain skills in the psychological and physical health sector. I learned the importance of providing mental health treatment that is responsive to the needs of a person. At the same time, I gained enough knowledge regarding mental health and why the patients need all the help from the world ( Maxwell, 2018) . This is a problem affecting the brain functioning of a person, including the ability to pay attention or focus on some activities. The mental health condition changes the fundamental function of cognition, perception, and emotion, which makes them vulnerable to issues such as depression, anxiety disorder, and high-stress levels. In this regard, they need support from people to bring positivity in their lives and guide them through recovery. 

The volunteer program also taught me to be real and let go of the ego that comes with despising individuals with mental health conditions. My advice to people wanting to volunteer to work with mentally challenged individuals is to take their ego out of everything because they will be required to do some disagreeable tasks to help the patient. They should engage in the program for the patient as opposed to themselves and will reap the rewards 

Entry 8 

At the same time, volunteering at ILC vocational cites demonstrated the physical and mental difficulties faced by the patients. Rather than being remorseful around people with a mental disability, I learned that they need someone who can uplift their souls and provide a new form of encouragement to change their dull lives ( Candy et al., 2015) . I realized the difference that paying attention to such people could make to the quality of their lives. Individuals with a mental disability experience some form of isolation due to lacking people to talk to, which often breeds depression and other psychiatric conditions such as hallucinations ( Mascolo, 2016) . 

Walking through the empty halls of the facility in the morning sometimes revealed the faces of people who are scared, lonely, and bored. These individuals need volunteers who can spend time with and reconnect as it makes a huge difference in their health and wellbeing. Individuals with mental health conditions value someone who can listen to them and provide a sense of encouragement and motivation. This is because they are used to people judging them with others purposing to stay away from their lives ( Berkowitz, 2010). 

At the same time, the volunteering program helped my physical and emotional health from the service performed within the health facility. I helped combat depression, reduce chronic pain, lessen the symptoms of mental health, and help renew positivity in patients, which was reflected in my health as well. I got enough experience to interact with such individuals and learn to live with their conditions. In the end, I formed a real and lasting connection with the individuals and helped them acquire the positivity to continue wishing for a better life. 

At the same time, these individuals rarely talk about their condition due to the negative perception associated with it. Some mentally challenged individuals lack friends or family to visit and provide them with encouragement or support. This can be a lonely experience to combat illness and makes it difficult to achieve recovery ( Mascolo, 2016) . Therefore, such individuals benefit from having someone to talk to and communicate. 

Entry 9 

I found the volunteer program at the ILC day service beneficial and most rewarding in a lot of capacities. The entire program turned out to be the most rewarding experience of my life due to the joy of making the smallest act of kindness ( Starmans, Sheskin & Bloom, 2017) . At the end of the program, there is a sense of gratification and satisfaction that comes from helping people achieve a better quality of health care. There is nothing like the feeling of making someone else comfortable and providing relief to their conditions. A person feels wholesomeness and happy for helping someone else achieve a better quality of life. This desire to have an impact on the lives of patients was a motivation to continue volunteering and being a source of inspiration ( Brian, 2007) . 

The large reward from this volunteer program was the degree to which it taught me about myself. I valued my mental health, and the overall health that I have, after interacting and experiencing what individuals with a mental disability, goes through. At the same time, the opportunity made me grow and learn a lot while teaching me to value what I have and what I can do for others ( Starmans, Sheskin & Bloom, 2017) . I certainly changed a lot as a person in the shortest time of volunteering, and it is all for good. 

Volunteering boosts self-esteem and mental health by teaching someone to think about the positivity of life. At the same, volunteering at the ILC vocational cite has improved my sense of self-worth, pride, and accomplishment that comes from improving the lives of others ( Brian, 2007) . I could see the difference I made in the lives of some individuals by interacting with them that would motivate me to return to the place and continue helping out. 

Entry 10 

In conclusion, the service-learning experience at Integrated Life Choices provided an opportunity to interact and help individuals with psychiatric conditions achieve a better quality of life. It was also an excellent opportunity to bring a smile on a stranger's face and contribute to the good of the community. I engaged in the program by providing support to the individuals that need to achieve better health and wellness ( Franck, 2009 ) . My interest was to spend time with mental health individuals and bring positivity to their lives, having experienced the despair associated with mental illness before. 

Participating in the volunteer program was an exciting and satisfying ordeal that benefited my personal and professional life. I enjoyed working with those individuals that are mentally challenged as it helped me understand the many different aspects associated with mental illness. The volunteer program was not an easy task as I was forced to step out of the comfort zone and help the Individuals in different aspects. However, it increased my knowledge of mental illness and the stigma attached that affects individuals from seeking medication ( Lukianoff & Haidt, 2015) . I was able to contribute to the volunteering program, and that has been rewarding for me. I also believe I completed the objectives of starting the volunteer program, which entailed making a positive difference in the lives of people. 

While there is an overwhelming need for mental health services, the company providing these services are often understaffed and overwhelmed. As a result, volunteers are needed to make a difference in countless lives within the community. Joining a volunteer program is the best way to help many of those in need while gaining medical experience as well as acquiring a rewarding and life-changing experience ( Franck, 2009 ) . Caring for people in need is something that we should all make an effort in our lives because they go through numerous medical difficulties. The opportunity is one of the best ways to make the world a brighter, safer, and happier place. 

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