Moyross Online - Blog for Moyross.ie

Corpus Christi Community Companions

Corpus Christi Community Companions is well-established now in Moyross. As you know, the Community Companions listen to how you feel about things without judging you. They do not give answers, but give you time to come up with your own answers – if that’s what you want. They do not talk to others about you and nobody talks about you unless you want them to. Community Companions are there for all adults in Moyross. We believe that by being with you as and where you are makes life a bit better for you and makes Moyross a better place to live, work, play and learn.

Life is often a series of changes and losses that we all have to face and cope with – sometimes these losses can make us feel so alone and isolated. Losses include death (including death by suicide), separation, imprisonment, family-breakup, children ‘leaving the nest’ or loneliness. People experience lost hope, peace of mind, certainty, work, faith, self-worth, money, friends, family, confidence, independence, health, safety, childhoods and even reasons for living. This is not to suggest that we do not have conversations about the achievements, interests, dreams, hopes and happier life experiences of people we meet – we often do. As Companions we are not counsellors or health professionals, we are regular normal people who are there to listen to and be with other regular normal people in day-to-day life and living.

Corpus Christi Community Companions aims to continue being companions in your community in 2010 – on the street, on the doorstep, at the kitchen table or at our drop-in facility. We are also looking at the possibility of inviting people to train as volunteers. There would be a clear recruitment, selection and training process so as to ensure that what Community Companions is about best matches the qualities, abilities, strengths and interests of volunteers.

At this stage we are just inviting people to express their interest in becoming volunteers. We are not simply looking for people with lots of qualifications or experience, but what we would be looking for are people with qualities such as given below and people who want to use and develop these qualities. Full initial training will be given.

· Able to listen
· Able to respect the private and confidential nature of the Corpus Christi Community Companions work at all times
· Able to work with others
· Calm
· Comfortable talking about feelings
· Easy to talk with and able to start conversation in a non-threatening manner
· Have a healthy sense of self
· Have a sense of humour
· Non-judgemental
· Open-minded
· Patient
· Reliable
· Respectful
· Sensitive to people’s feelings
· Understanding
· Willing to learn

Corpus Christi Community Companions is currently funded by Limerick Regeneration Agencies and Limerick Enterprise Development Park and its staff are employed by the Moyross Community Enterprise Centre. The project office is based in the church in Moyross. This partnership between these different organisations is a very positive part of Corpus Christi Community Companions and the reason the project was able to be set up and keep going. While the staff have an excellent working relationship with the organisations, information of a personal and confidential nature is not shared with any other agency unless specifically requested by people availing of our service.

If you a) are interested in knowing more, b) want to tell us you are interested in volunteering or c) want to share your ideas on what we are or should be doing, please feel free to contact Mo, Anne Marie or Breda on 061 329606.