Volunteer

Volunteer

It takes a very special person to want to be a caregiver. You either know in your heart you can and want to do it or you don’t. It is not easy to witness someone and their family facing a life threatening illness, death, and bereavement.  Yes, we all die…and most of us know that life is a precious and fragile journey that inevitably comes to an end. Caregiving at this stage of life can help to make it a time of dignity, serenity, and even hope.

That said, besides the physical training volunteers receive, the qualities we look for in our volunteers include compassion, gentleness, good listeners and the willingness to help people live as fully as possible until the end. It can be a spiritual experience for all involved.

Who qualifies to be a caregiver?

A caregiver is someone who handles many or all of the needs for a loved one or friend who is no longer able to care for himself or herself because of illness, age, or disability. 

Caregivers can provide their services in many venues—at home, at the hospital, or in visits to a long-term nursing-care facility. Some caregivers even live great distances from the person to whom they are providing care. You may not have asked for this role as caregiver. Perhaps you were thrown into it unexpectedly, and now find yourself unsure of what to do—and unprepared for the road that lies ahead.

You’ll find out, or may already know, that the spectrum of tasks a caregiver undertakes is truly vast. Some responsibilities, such as grocery shopping, housekeeping, doing laundry, and cooking, are familiar to us all. On the other hand, giving injections, changing bandages, calming an agitated parent with Alzheimer’s disease, or helping a disabled partner get from the bed to the bathroom can be far more daunting.

Through your countless unheralded contributions, you’re enabling their loved ones to continue to live as independently as possible.”
Courtesy Harvard Health Learning

Legal Aspects

Comfort Care & Assistance is a group of volunteers coming together as friends helping friends in time of need. We are not a for profit business. The consensus view is that part-time volunteering is OK to do without a permit, but if you are a full-time volunteer (even without pay) then that counts as work, and therefore Mexico requires a visa.  As of 2012, to apply for an FMM non-immigrante visa (formerly called an FM3) you have to apply at a Mexican consulate outside of Mexico. For more information the official website is: sre.gob.mx/reinounido/index.php/visas/103. For up to date information on visa requirements, you can also check with the Embassy or Consulate of Mexico. 

If you are already a permanent resident with a work permit, please make sure your permit includes volunteering for non profit causes.

If you decide to offer your services for post surgery assistance or senior assistance, those hourly arrangements are made between you and the patient, and you are responsible for your work permit and reporting your income to Hacienda.

If you would like to join us in these journeys, we welcome you to contact Lu@comfortcare.mx to discuss the possibilities.

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