Work & Career
Volunteer Placement
Last Updated:
Volunteer work can be meaningful to all individuals in society. Helping others “feels good” to most people and this may be especially true for those individuals with brain injury. Self-esteem building after brain injury is difficult with frequent periods of self-doubt and occasional despair. Giving to others through volunteer work aids the individual with brain injury in re-establishing him or herself as a contributing member of society.
The best volunteerships may be developed in areas of interest to the person with brain injury. For example, an individual interested in photography may want to volunteer taking pictures at the local high school football games. This provides social contact and utilizes a skill that the brain-injured individual may have had pre-injury (photography).
Support personnel working with individuals with brain injury should attempt to identify areas of interest to that person. Volunteerships may be the first area of community re-entry after brain injury. Volunteerships may also allow a regulation of time commitment and duties to match the residual abilities of the person with brain injury. Therefore volunteerships should be based on the residual or remaining skills of the person with brain injury and be limited in scope to those skills. Ensuring success in the volunteership should be an important consideration.
Individuals with brain injury may have difficulty in recognizing not only their skills but also their disabilities. Taking on too many responsibilities in a volunteership may lead to failure. Individuals can be “fired” even from volunteer work. The services of a Rehabilitation Counselor/Evaluator may aid in predicting success for the volunteership. The rule of thumb for volunteerships is not to overplay the job demands or time commitment, yet progressively move into greater job skills development with subsequent volunteer relationships. Success in volunteerships is essential as a building tool in vocational rehabilitation.
Volunteerships generally require a supportive supervisor and a “tolerant work atmosphere”. Like employment, there should be a matching of the abilities of the person with brain injury to the needs of the employer. Modification or changing of work duties may be more readily accepted when the worker is unpaid. An example would be a small retail establishment that did not demand use of a cash register for the volunteer. Eliminating this work duty for the volunteer may be possible while paid employees may be required to perform all duties in the workplace. Utilizing such an atmosphere for social interaction and the development of appropriate work skills may be a strong teaching tool for the person with brain injury.
Long-term volunteerism may be appropriate. This is especially true if stamina or emotional and medical problems make it difficult for the volunteer to be available on a regular schedule. Additionally, volunteerships may not adversely affect insurance or other benefit structures that may be impacted by part-time or sporadic paid employment. The injured worker and his or her support team must analyze the appropriateness of work as it impacts the family, the individual, and any benefit structures. Advancing to sustained part-time or full-time work status is generally the goal of volunteership.
Society’s evaluation and appreciation of volunteerism continues to improve. It is seen as a significant and meaningful contribution for many individuals.
Ms. Willard is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), Certified Vocational Expert (VE), Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS), Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), and Certified Case Manager (CCM). She serves as a vocational expert for the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Social Security Administration. Her company, Willard Rehabilitation, Inc. provides rehabilitation evaluations to assist individuals in developing life goals, rehabilitation plans and vocational options compatible with physical, cognitive, and or psychological abilities.