That my meth monkey neighbor is trying to black mail me over the medications I take. As I’ve written before in this blog I’m high functioning bipolar. Yes, I take medication for it but it’s more for upkeep as I take care of hygiene & other personal things on my own.
Yes, I see a therapist once a month. Also, for upkeep.
I think it’s a shame that people think it’s okay to harass/stalk people with insignificant mental issues. I’ve had it with the stalking as it’s been happening for over 6 months now. I’m making a visit to the authorities after our first Fall storm passes.
In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled?
For 10 years I did Habitat for Humanity mainly on the East coast & in Kentucky. Each Summer I’d go down to Kentucky & work with the rural poor that has been compared to Ho Chi Minh City.
My first year I worked with a family where I learned how to install vinyl flooring & do base boards. It was fun as I & a dear friend worked our hearts out for a week.
After the first year I worked on porches & small rooms, I also helped build the interior walls for some clients & their house. I spent 5 years with the first Habitat group & then I transferred to a college build in the city I went to Uni.
We worked hard on the build but had to leave every afternoon as the neighborhood was full of gangs that would start orbiting the house we were working on.
I enjoy physical labor & volunteering when I make a difference in someone’s life. How do you pay it forward?
I’ve spent over half my life volunteering & I think it’s critical not only for our community but also for the people we’re trying to help.
When you volunteer you make a difference in someone’s life & it can either be a moment or long term. You make a difference by helping people when they’re in a crisis or when life takes a more serious turn.
I answered a local hotline for a long time & a majority of the calls I’d receive were people who were on the brink or the precipice of life. Often crying or suicidal I had to convince them that they needed to call for help. The hardest calls were people that hadn’t filled their medication or weren’t able to make sure they were out of it.
Both scenarios are not good. Most of the time I had to talk people off the ledge & urge them to go to the hospital or emergency room. This may sound easy but believe me it’s not. When a person has lost hope you need to find out if they have a plan.
If they have a plan the urgency to get help is graver & time may be of the essence.
Enough about tough phone calls, I think it’s made me a better person & a stronger person. How do you give back to your community?
