Classification Talk
Posted by Erin Mounsey
After more than a decade serving with the American Red Cross, the last 8 years as Executive Director here in Northern Colorado, I am now pursuing another passion that is dear to my heart; caring for elders and persons affected by disabilities.
My passion for caring for those in need started when I was a senior in high school. I took a job as a Certified Nursing Assistant at the local nursing home in my Home Town of Hood River Oregon.
While I was blessed by interactions with many of the residents there, I was also shocked to learn of the way we often warehouse, neglect and forget about those who need us most. I worked at another nursing home complex in Portland while I was first in college. This was a much different facility than the one in my hometown, with many more levels of care, housing and services. Even with all the accoutrements, I could not help but see this as yet another den of warehousing, neglecting and forgetting those who were counting on us for love and care. Soon after this I went to work for a lady that had a series of host homes in residential neighborhoods. To be quite honest the home that I worked in was just as guilty of warehousing and neglecting as any of the facilities. But, when I went to my boss’ home to pick up my paychecks, I saw something completely different. Her home was one filled with people who were thriving in their care. It was filled with life! I knew I had found something special, a better solution to the issue of caring for persons in need.
But, life has a peculiar way of happening and mine was tragically interrupted by the suicide of my father. But, that is a story for another day.
I wound up in Durango, Colorado where I got an education in Business Administration and Accounting. I built a thriving commercial services business with my fiance and life seemed to really be ours for the taking. One day while refinishing the hardwood floors in a little 1908 Victorian, lacquer thinner fumes hit a pilot light and “Kablooey!” life took another peculiar turn. But, that is also a story for another day.
Well we both nearly died, barely survived, we almost got married, but instead I got stuck with a brokenhearted cowboy’s song about how she left me for one of my best friends, took my house, my business, my truck and my dog! And my foolish self wound up in the state prison. But, that too is a story for another day.
Life took a turn for the better, I met my beautiful wife MeLisa, who also has a background working with persons in need in Canada. She is unique in that she is one of the only caregivers under the age of 40 who has actually lived in a nursing home! Melisa introduced me to a man named Jesus and my life has never been the same. I’ll happily tell that story any day!
One day, while working for the Red Cross, I visited an elderly donor. She lived with other elders in a beautiful home filled with life. The memories of that home in Portland flooded back and I knew this is something we should do. Two years ago we turned our home into A Home For Life and started caring for two individuals who get to share life with us. We also teach people this model for how to quit their job to care for their loved ones that need them without going broke!
Some of my Interests:
God - Gardening - Fermenting Foods - Handyman Projects - Hunting Oyster Mushrooms - Forgiveness - Building Healthy Teams - Small Business / Entreprenuership - & Old Trucks
Let me conclude with a quote by Leo Buscaglia:
It’s not enough to have lived.
We should be determined to live for something.
May I suggest that it be creating joy for others,
sharing what we have for the betterment of personkind,
bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.