BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Businesses and non-profits are struggling to hire staff and volunteers amid the current labor shortage. While one local non-profit is doing much better than they were this time last year, Hoffman Hospice is still looking for more volunteers.
The only locally founded non-profit Hospice Center usually has up to 100 volunteers to serve as a companion to terminally ill patients in their final months. This time last year the non-profit had to cut their volunteers from 85 down to 3 due to the pandemic. Volunteers and staff took on more hours to help fill those gaps.
Although they now have around 50 volunteers one year later Darci Nieto, Director of marketing with Hoffman Hospice said they’d like to continue to see that number go up, especially as the holidays quickly approach.
“They need that respite care. They need that companionship,” said Nieto. “And so many of those patients can’t get outside of their homes and socialize like we can. So having a volunteer that goes in and visits with them just to even watch tv or read a book or do a craft, or even just listen, it’s so important for them.”
Visit their website to learn more about volunteering.
