OnSite

Yesterday was our 2nd clinic shift at OnSite and again I am blown away by the effect that this place has on me.
It's strange. The interaction with the people there is like no other group that I've worked with before. Sure it's a little similar to Aurora but the energy is very different. I had a feeling that it might be hard to put how I felt and what the OnSite experience is like into words and I was right. It's just different. It's also uplifting to work with the people there. It's really nice to see that they recognize that their body needs to detox and they voluntarily check themselves in for a detox. Some move on to a drug free life and others go back on the street. It's a very difficult situation for those who live on the street. For most of them that's all they know. Some were put on the streets at the age of 12 and at the age of 63 they find themselves detoxing and wanting to change. It's immense the strength that it takes! So for those who end up back on the streets I don't really feel sad. I feel like they are on the right path and it may take them a try or two (or three or four...) to make a change. Others may not. But I am glad that they have a place to go to if they feel like they need a break from the streets. A place where they can go to get in touch with their bodies and cleanse themselves if only temporarily.
Yesterday I had an experience that I never had before. Usually we go in there to do two treatments on the 2nd floor (the 1st floor is InSite and we don't work there) and then we have a quick break to move our chairs to the 3rd floor, do some charting then get ready for our other two guests. By the time our shift is over, we pack up our stuff and head back to school for more charting and a little debriefing. This time, as we were putting our things away, a couple of gentlemen (also clients of ours, unfortunately we don't have the time to see everyone who would like to get a treatment) were watching the Canucks game. The four of us took the time to chat with the guys about the game and about who was winning. Unfortunately it wasn't the Canucks but that didn't matter to me. It was nice to step out of my therapist role and get to talk to them about something other then their aches and pains.
OnSite has a lot of controversy and I can understand why. But I'd be curious to see what people would say if they actually went to Onsite and saw what it was like. Sure it's no holiday but the energy is relatively positive and you can see a glimmer of life in their eyes. In a society where we think that beauty is prefect straight teeth and clear beautiful skin, I'd challenge that because I'd rather see the occasional true missing teeth smile then a straight fake smile.