Today, you get the privilege of meeting some of the staff from the Council Bluffs Comprehensive Treatment Center, a medical treatment center for individuals struggling with opioid addiction. Seeing an overlap in our populations, the Treatment Center began volunteering nearly 2 years ago because they felt it would be beneficial for their patients to see that their care for them included care for ALL of their needs, not just their medical treatment.
Serving lunch every-other week for the past 2 years, the Treatment Center staff has now built rapport, relationship, and a sense of consistency with our meal-site guests who have come to know them as a familiar face in the food line. Dr. Glenn Hurst is the Medical Director for the Center and puts volunteering into perspective with his daily work as a physician. “You never know what the most important thing you do today will be.” he says, “It may not be diagnosing someone’s cancer or delivering a baby. It might just be holding the door for that person who’s ready to give up.”
Volunteering at our meal-site has also helped the Treatment Center staff to be more aware of how they can meet needs even beyond their daily work of addiction treatment. A unique example is that by serving with us consistently, the Treatment Center staff became aware of our need for more food trays. A few phone calls and a quick trip to Glenwood resulted in an amazing donation of school lunch trays from the Glenwood School District, all because the Treatment Center staff was aware of the need and was able to connect with the right people.
We know how busy medical professionals are, and we’re honored that the Treatment Center staff prioritizes volunteering with us as a part of their service to the community. When asked how they are able to carve out time to volunteer during their busy days, Kelly, the Center’s Nurse Practitioner, says, “It takes less than 2 hours to serve a meal. You don’t have to give a lot of time, but you GET so much in return.” We’re so grateful to Glenn and Kelly and rest of the team at the Council Bluffs Treatment Center for their consistent and caring presence with our guests experiencing hunger and homelessness.
Comments