Central Coast Hospice needs volunteers

“My mother had a rare brain disease. And towards the end of her life she became a hospice patient,” said Niki Tempesta, volunteer services coordinator at Central Coast Health and Hospice.

Her mother, Jeanne, spent her last days in a hospice center in Fresno.

“I couldn’t even go near that house after that,” Tempesta said. “It was kind of like the center of town.”

For years, overcome with grief, she avoided the place until a close friend called her with a request.

“Her husband had cancer and she called and said, you know, he’s dying. Can you come and sit with us? And I said, of course, thinking that I would go to their house…” Tempesta said.

But when she arrived, she found herself back in the same hospice center where her mother died.

“I just sat with her at his bedside that night,” Tempesta explains, “and he died that night while she was with him.”

She told me that her friend was deeply grateful for her presence.

“She said, I just want to thank you for being the only person who was willing to just be in that room with me,” Tempesta said.

This experience led Tempesta to work with Home Health and Hospice of the Central Coast, driven by one strong belief.

“We seem to understand and appreciate the sacredness of bringing a child into the world. But each of us will leave this world, and we don’t like to think about it,” Tempesta said.

She now tells me that they are seeing a big trend in the need for hospice throughout the county and are looking for more volunteers to meet the growing need.

Marilyn Munguia is one of their current volunteers who describes the work as rewarding and meaningful.

“I’m learning about them, I can let them remember things in their lives that maybe their family members have heard so many times that they don’t want to hear it again. I get to learn about their lives and hopefully I can bring them some happiness,” Munguia said.

If you’d like to spend a few hours a week helping members of your community, the center will soon be holding volunteer training and encourages anyone interested to get in touch. To learn more about their volunteer opportunities, click Here.