Rachel

The Montgomery Hospice mission statement, “to gentle the journey through serious illness and loss with skill and compassion,” does not even begin to show all that this organization does. The patients with whom I visited really love all the members of their supporting team. The relationships forged between the hospice workers and the patients are deeply personal, creating a community of caring. I feel honored and blessed to have played a part in this wonderful program.

George

I have now been a hospice volunteer for going on ten years, but I will never forget my first assignment. When I met her, Ann Marie was in her seventies.  Born in the Caribbean islands and orphaned in her early teens, she was sent to live in an orphanage in this area. At eighteen, Ann Marie, on her own, became a live-in domestic, employed successively by four or five different families until she retired.

Diane

Most of my time as a Montgomery Hospice volunteer has been spent visiting elderly patients in nursing homes. It takes so little to put a smile on a nursing home patient's face. During my visits with these lovely people, we sometimes watch TV together or we talk; at other times, we sit in companionable silence. I decided to be a Montgomery Hospice volunteer because my mother's life ended while she was in hospice care, supported by the wonderful staff. As I visit with patients in nursing homes, I want to share with them the same reassurance, compassion and respect that “gentled” my mother’s journey.