My return to New Orleans January was temporarily delayed as
I woke up at 5AM on January 3rd to find my flight on an economy
airline had been cancelled and not rescheduled. I in turn had to find the next
available flight out of North Carolina in order to return to my studies on
time, which was not cheap. I guess that is the risk you take with traveling on
an economy airline around the holidays. It has been great to get back in the
swing of things. Within the classroom, the neurology and psychiatry blocks have
been my favorite two blocks we have covered since July, certainly significantly due to my
interest in mental health care. On that note, I have continued working with
NAMI New Orleans and assisting with the NAMI Helpline. My experiences with
callers continues to lead me to identify aspects of life that I take for
granted such as guaranteed housing and access to healthcare. It is a bit
frustrating to hear the struggles of community members who are doing all they
can to improve their situations, but it is also very rewarding to be on the
other end of the phone line and to provide callers with assistance and
resources in all the ways NAMI has identified to be beneficial to this subgroup
of the community living with mental illness. In addition to answering calls, I
also had the opportunity to take part in thanking community members who had
donated to NAMI the previous year by handwriting individual letters to all
donors. Their donations continue to allow the organization to provide many of
the wonderful services, which are significantly impactful and beneficial in the
day-to-day lives of New Orleans community members living with mental illness.
January Community Service Hours - 6 hours
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