tomsteve

pretty glad to read this!
I was wonderin if wanting to help those suffering from addiction has been a passion for a long time or just came up recently.

my experience on it, being the alcoholic/addict:
I was way more responsive to someone that had been in my shoes then someone who hadn't- someone that personally wasn't in recovery

loveandmagic

I volunteer as a refugee mentor. I work with a family for 6 months helping them assimilate to western culture. I also help tutor refugee and immigrant children. It's nice to be able to offer energy into someone's life and actually see it make a difference, as that is not so much the case with helping an alcoholic into sobriety

Hangnbyathread

I have always believed in Volunteering. It does a few things. Its good for my soul. It helps keep me grounded and aware of others less fortunate. It helps someone else get passed a bad chapter.

However you do bring up an important point. To whom do you volunteer for or not? This has become more difficult than volunteering. I can't say as though I'd volunteer for anyone or any organization that deals with addictions. Since I'm not qualified to asses those that are truly dependent from those that are simply "users", I'd shy away from them since having being with someone with an addiction has been a major drain on my life at one point. I'd have a hard time showing sympathy for their situation. However I would be happy to help Al-Anon or AlaTeen in some capacity.

I volunteered to help Cerebral Palsy patients by offering wheel chair mechanic skills and installing aides in their homes to help their caregivers. I help the elderly whenever I can. I have helped build homes for Habitat for Humanity. Would love to hands on help the Wounded Warriors.

There are LOTS of great ways to give back without it sucking the life out of you.

AnvilheadII

check with your local United Way. My FAVE volunteer event is the annual Day of Caring which is held in September. I'm not sure EVERY United Way hosts one, so you'd have to investigate. It's a huge one day regional volunteer event where teams select from a list of projects of just about every flavor you can imagine, all with the same purpose - to help those in need.

i've helped clean up a beach, help a senior center get ready for a white elephant sale (we taught them the macarena at lunch!), taking a group of physically/mentally compromised individuals on an outing to the zoo, helping a food bank sort and prepare food for home delivery, cleared a pathway in a neighborhood park on a really steep hillside for access to the newly UNcovered orchard that had been "lost" to overgrowth, feeding the homeless........i could go on, as i've been involved for close to 25 years..........

Smarie78

What a great thing to put yourself into. I agree with some of the posters above. I too wanted to (and still sometimes do) dive into addiction related volunteer work, but I took a step back since I am still involved with my qualifier and right now the volunteer work would be better away from all of that. I think in a sense jumping into addiction volunteer work does have a part of it that may end up being a way for you to repent for the guilt you are still suffering from. I would hate to see you punish yourself that way and given that addiction is so progressive and ugly, you don't want to beat yourself up over the possibility of helping someone who may relapse (then blaming yourself for it).

Think about things that you care deeply for. I realized that my efforts in helping my qualifier were futile so the best advice someone gave me was to help someone who actually needed the help in doing what they were not capable of doing for themselves (unlike my qualifier). I discovered I felt helpless with the recent refugee crisis in war torn regions so decided to find a local group that helps settle refugees into a home when they arrive to the US. This has fulfilled me in ways I never imagined. It took me out of myself and the disease of my partner, and into something entirely new that actually needed and appreciated my kind heart without abuse.

Keep looking and brainstorming. Remember you are grieving. Even if alcohol wasn't in the picture in your relationship, you would still be suffering because you lost someone you love whether it a car accident or cancer. Addiction just adds a horrible layer onto it. Guilt is a normal part of grief. Addiction also unfortunately for the Codie, really ups it on the guilt. Go to meetings, go to your therapist, and get outside of yourself....this is an excellent start. Big hugs.

Sasha1972

Volunteering is great, especially when you feel stuck in other aspects of your life. I volunteer at my church and also with the local animal rescue society (walking dogs, playing with cats, etc). I found it was good to volunteer doing something that is very different from my paid job, just for a complete change of pace.

I have just started going to AlAnon, and I could see myself taking on some sort of service role there some day. I would be wary about getting involved in AA, or an association that works with addicts, not because I have any issues with the organization but because I'm not sure I could be objective and helpful without getting enmeshed if I ran across someone who reminded me of my alcoholic ex-husband. Too many emotions could get in the way. Volunteering for an organization like AlAnon, which supports family and friends, I think would be easier because I feel it's a way of making something positive out of the very negative experience of having been married to an alcoholic for 20 years - I may be able to help support people who are where I was a few years ago (when I didn't get the support I needed). (However, I'm still very new to the whole recovery world [never thought I needed "recovery" for myself!], so I'm still a long way from being ready to jump in and help out with AlAnon).

August252015

Great topic. I volunteer. It has been part of my life pretty much all along, and I got too far away from it during the heavy drinking years.

My boyfriend and I (he is also in recovery) work with a charity here that is very close to my heart; it provides food and groceries for critically and terminally ill people. We do delivery quarterly.

I work with a restaurant industry group that supports food & bev employees when in financial hardship (critical illness, loss of home, etc) and just joined forces with a big time restaurant guy in Atlanta/NC/SC to begin an Atlanta chapter of a recovery group just for food & bev people. I am a server now- pretty much what I have done for the last seven years, when I was working- so this is a really big deal to me.

Service work is a big part of AA (my chosen recovery method) and I believe any giving back, big and small, is always worth the effort.

firebolt

I volunteer for Hope for the Holidays, and to cook at the local "soup kitchen" for lack of a better term. I love it - and I swear, it does more for me than it does for the people I am helping to feed and get presents for.

honeypig

I have volunteered at the Alanon Central Office in my area. I've done random stuff, like helped w/the local Victory Garden Initiative w/delivering and installing raised bed gardens. I've done a lot of volunteering for running events through the local running club and also through a for-profit local organization that repays me by letting me run the race for free (does that count?). And in the course of a week, whenever there is enough leftover soup and bread at the bakery/cafe where I work to make the trip worth the time and gas, I deliver those items to the local rescue mission.

These things are always a feel-good deal for me, for sure!