‘Activism cure’ benefits volunteers, those they serve

I grew up in a time when domestic violence was considered an unfortunate but accepted fact of life.

One tumultuous event that crushed into my memory was a midcentury party that consisted of WWII vets and their families. The smell of beer, peanuts and barbecue still linger in this flashback: We kids whooped about the backyard. A loud crash exploded from the living room. I peeked through the sliding glass door. Blood smeared across a woman’s face as she lifted it from a glass coffee table that her husband had just smashed her head into. Silence held the moment. The hostess grabbed a towel and tried to help the abused woman. The angry husband grabbed his bloody wife, called for their two kids, and they left in their new Chevy station wagon.

I wanted to do something about this hideous event. But I was 8 and was curtly reminded, “Mind your own business, Charmaine.”

When I wrote for the Valley Press in Palmdale, domestic violence was one of the issues I covered. It was the 1980s, and the battered woman/partner was the bruised cat that escaped from the hidden bag. I learned that domestic violence crossed all cultures, income and social status levels.

More than 30 years later, domestic and sexual violence remains in our culture. And local police reports show that it is here in our seaside community.

Volunteer efforts can make a difference in an abused person’s life. Marisa Balmana coordinates volunteers for RISE, an acronym for “respect, inspire, support and empower.” RISE is a nonprofit organization that “provides crisis intervention and treatment services to survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence and their loved ones,” as stated on the website, www.riseslo.org.

When asked about the need for North Coast volunteers, Balmana stated, “Outreach is a real challenge along the coastal area north of Morro Bay.” She acknowledged that finding volunteers is not easy because “the issues are serious.”

Volunteer opportunities include:

▪  After-hours Crisis line advocate.

▪  Shelter assistant — Paso Robles and Atascadero.

▪  Education/prevention presenter.

▪  Outreach and special events.

▪  General office assistance.

In 2013, two nonprofits, North County Women’s Shelter and Resource Center and the Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention Center of San Luis Obispo County, merged to form RISE. RISE is the only SLO County agency that provides advocacy and emotional support to victims of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

Those interested in discovering more about this volunteer opportunity can call Balmana at 226-5400, ext. 305.

This sort of volunteer service would likely fit into the category of bringing about a meaningful life through “the activism cure.”

Author Meredith Maran wrote about the activism cure for the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. In 2006, a real estate broker, Kate, was attacked and tortured. Kate tried all sorts of therapies but never found her way out of her severe depression and psychic damage. Later that year, she was trapped in an airplane stranded on the tarmac for nine hours with no water, food or toilet facilities.

She told Maran, “Being trapped on that plane triggered the victimized feeling I’d had since the assault. All of a sudden I thought, ‘Enough is enough.’ ”

According to Maran, “Within weeks Kate launched a website, flyersrights.org, to spearhead the swelling movement for airline passengers’ rights.”

Kate told Maran, “Taking on the cause has done me more good than any therapy ever could.”

Researchers call this “the activism cure.”

“Whether a person has experienced a life-altering trauma like Kate’s, or suffers from anxiety and/or depression, or is grappling with a garden-variety case of the blues, research shows that those who take the activism cure find personal healing in their efforts to heal the world,” Maran explained.

Maran cited the first major study in 1986, “The Americans’ Changing Lives Studies,” by the National Institute on Aging. Divided into two groups, the more than 3,600 participants were split into those who performed volunteer work and those who did not.

From Maran’s report: “The researchers surveyed each member of the two groups in 1986, 1989, 1994 and 2006, comparing their levels of happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of control over life, physical health and depression.

“ ‘People who were in better physical and mental health were more likely to volunteer,’ reported the study’s leader, Peggy Thoits, a Vanderbilt University sociologist. ‘And conversely, volunteer work was good for both mental and physical health.

‘People of all ages who volunteered were happier and experienced better physical health and less depression.’ ”

So it would seem that taking on a volunteer position with a group like RISE would not only benefit the victims that RISE serves, but possibly the volunteer via the activism cure — especially when our society no longer accepts abusive behavior as an unfortunate but accepted fact of life.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 11:10 AM with the headline "‘Activism cure’ benefits volunteers, those they serve."