She is now a health educator for the Tri-County South Regional Tobacco Free Project. The state-run project, which serves Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties, addresses youth access to tobacco products, second hand smoke and tobacco advertising issues. She is currently seeking UCR students to volunteer for her organization. Louise Beckman, a former volunteer coordinator with the Riverside Hospice, agrees that student volunteers are a valuable resource. She has worked with several UCR students, many of them biomedical science majors who hope the experience will make them better doctors.
Hospices offer physical and emotional care for the terminally ill.
Volunteers visit with patients, giving their family members a much-needed break. They bring some youthfulness to the program that we might not normally have. She recalled one man, an AIDS patient in his early 30s, who had been cared for by many volunteers. A student volunteer helped him to open up and talk about the fears and concerns he had about his illness. Dealing with terminally ill patients can be difficult for the youthful students, who have their whole lives ahead of them, but it often has an unexpected benefit, said Beckman.