“If I can help one person, I’ll be happy”

Just over two years ago, Sabrina’s life came to a standstill. Burnout forced her to quit her job. She sat at home wondering what she really wanted to do. She knew she wanted to use her experience to help people, but she didn’t know how.

Puzzle pieces fell into place

Before she suffered a burnout, she had signed up as a buddy at Humanitas. She was looking for suitable volunteer work, and it appealed to her. It wasn’t until the coronavirus pandemic that she started seriously considering what she truly wanted: helping people who had gone through similar experiences. She herself had a difficult past, in which domestic violence and abuse played a role. “I wanted to turn my negative experiences into something positive, but at the time I didn’t know how or in what form.”

At Humanitas, she attended various training courses. It was during one of them that she learned about TeamED. That’s where everything fell into place. “During the TeamED training, I started to grow as an expert by experience, and everything fell into place.”

She’s been volunteering with TeamED for a year now. Sabrina is deployed as a flying sergeant and helps out every Wednesday with lunch at the community center. The lunch is for residents who feel lonely or just want to chat. “You see people perk up. They start chatting again, and connections are made. That makes me feel good too.”

She also provides one-on-one support to people. One of them is an 81-year-old man, a former bargeman’s child without a wife or children, who often woke up in a panic due to his loneliness. Sabrina now supports him weekly. “I ask how his week was, whether he’s taken his medication, and we talk about his hobbies. It really brightens him up. I recently bought him a lamp so he can work on his model ships in the evenings. He was so happy. That makes me happy too.”

Sabrina also supports a woman with a history of addiction. Because of her own experience with her mother’s and other family members’ drug addiction, she understands her better than most. She often says, “Finally, someone who truly understands where I’m coming from. Being able to help her like this makes me feel good.”

Past

Her motivation stems from her own past. When she was young, her mother ended up in an abusive relationship. There was domestic violence, addiction, police visits—eventually, they fled to a women’s shelter in Zaandam. Later, she herself ended up in an unhealthy relationship and was a victim of sexual abuse. “But I came out of it okay. I want to show others that light at the end of the tunnel.”

Her burnout ultimately helped her realize what she truly wanted. “I knew I wanted to use my experience to help people, but I didn’t know how. At TeamED, I was given the space to discover that.”

She’s currently training to provide information to universities, police, and students. There, she shares her story and demonstrates how recovery is possible.

Her dream is to eventually work as an independent expert by experience, ultimately giving presentations and becoming an inner strength speaker. “I worked as an office manager for years, but I didn’t find it fulfilling. This work energizes me. I’ve truly discovered something about myself. If I can help just one person, I’ll be happy.”

Also interested in volunteer work?

Choose something that suits you.   You’ll find 1001 possibilities  in our online job board for the Amsterdam Volunteer Center. Or feel free to stop by one of our consultation hours .

Interview: Kyara Ubink
Photo: Marcel Jansen