is community breaking down?

A

Asguard

Kiss my dark side
Valued Senior Member
I'm a member of an organisation completely dependent on volunteers, St John Ambulance. The number of our members has been consistantly falling as people retire from the organisation and arnt replaced by new members and i was having a discussion with someone else in the organsation who pointed out that all organsations which relie on volunteers like the CFS, SAAS, SES, Royal life savers and 100s of other organsations working in various areas from emergency services to the health care system to community services, sports clubs and aged care and ALL these organisations are struggling just to keep there membership stable while population (and there for nessacity for these services) rises.

So why is that the case?

From my own experiance, when you ask people at work if they would be interested in joing the first question is "how much does it pay?" followed closly by "why would anyone want to do that if it doesnt pay?"

Where did this selfish attitude come from or why does it seem to be increasing so dramatically?
 
It might be coming from the fact that there are more rich and more poor and to stay above water one must work harder and longer than before while stressed the whole time that one may lose that job in some reorganization. I think people need a sense of security and stability over time to want to volunteer - along with other positive qualities we usually associate with volunteering.
 
Doreen said:
It might be coming from the fact that there are more rich and more poor and to stay above water one must work harder and longer than before while stressed the whole time that one may lose that job in some reorganization. I think people need a sense of security and stability over time to want to volunteer - along with other positive qualities we usually associate with volunteering.
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possably but this isnt just comming from the 30-40 year olds. There has been a massive increase in people staying at home longer and its THIS group (18-25) who are not doing community work anymore. Yes the biggest rates of volunteering is the 30-40 year old mothers at schools ect but the ages for the emergency services like the CFS, SES, SAAS (ambulance service), surf life savers ect are much younger and more likly to be men ect
 
Perhaps the younger people today are finding it more difficult to take time away from their responsibilities that they need to do to devote time to things they should volunteer to do. This is happening everywhere and for various reasons. It costs money to transport yourself to a volunteer program and it takes time away from things that they need to do with their own families and relatives. Then again many are disillusioned by helping others as well for their own reasons. Some just want to be lazy as well. :shrug:
 
cosmictraveler said:
Perhaps the younger people today are finding it more difficult to take time away from their responsibilities that they need to do to devote time to things they should volunteer to do. This is happening everywhere and for various reasons. It costs money to transport yourself to a volunteer program and it takes time away from things that they need to do with their own families and relatives. Then again many are disillusioned by helping others as well for their own reasons. Some just want to be lazy as well. :shrug:
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thats a fair comment (and an eternal annoyance to myself i might add:p) but it just doesnt match what people are actually saying when i ask if they would be interested. its not, "sorry i dont have the money to do that" or "i wish i had the time" but rather "why would i want to do something i dont get paid to do?". A few of them were even more interested in cheating the system (ie using the uniform to get into things like Big Day out without paying but doing no work) and even asked why i dont do that. It is just compleatly odd, its like the entire attituded changed between the group my age and those 5 years younger which simply doesnt make sense
 
Asguard said:
I'm a member of an organisation completely dependent on volunteers, St John Ambulance. The number of our members has been consistantly falling...

So why is that the case?

From my own experiance, when you ask people at work if they would be interested in joing the first question is "how much does it pay?" followed closly by "why would anyone want to do that if it doesnt pay?"
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You just answered your own question. People don't volunteer because they have their priorities straight.
 
sure they do, you do realiase that without volunteers the goverment would be required to pick up these jobs dont you?

For the CFS alone thats around 15,500 extra PAID staff (SA alone) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_Fire_Service

SAAS 1500 (SA only)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Australian_Ambulance_Service

For the SES 43,000 (Australia wide)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Emergency_Service

Surf life savers 111,364 (Australia wide)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surf_Life_Saving_Australia

St John Ambulance Service 13,000 (Australia wide) the operations branch who not only provide community first aid services but also provide first aid to fire fighters and others in bush fires as well as being part of the state diaster plan if nessary to provide first responce, first aid and also medical treatment as part of the state hospital system

Thats in the emergecy service area alone (and im sure im missing some like marine rescue and others)

All these positions will still be nessary but will have to be replaced by PAID staff which will mean massive increases in state tax.
 
While the bureaucrats make millions from the taxpayers doing nothing but taking up time and space. Then they expect the young to do stuff for free so that the bureaucrats can make even more. :shrug:
 
Asguard said:
possably but this isnt just comming from the 30-40 year olds. There has been a massive increase in people staying at home longer and its THIS group (18-25) who are not doing community work anymore. Yes the biggest rates of volunteering is the 30-40 year old mothers at schools ect but the ages for the emergency services like the CFS, SES, SAAS (ambulance service), surf life savers ect are much younger and more likly to be men ect
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i think much of this is based on a feeling you have, perhaps more perception. Actually there is more of a demand for volunteers due to higher populations so most likely not the sitation you envision.

also, volunteers do have fringe benefits and many like to be part of these organizations. there is also bonding and stuff like that.
 
John, your sure are you?
Lets see if your opinion is borne out

CFS
CFS warns of firefighter shortage
Posted Tue Jan 3, 2006 10:11am AEDT
ABC News

The head of the Country Fire Service (CFS) says a shift in community attitudes toward volunteering could put strain on smaller firefighting teams in remote parts of South Australia.

The CFS has reported one of its busiest starts to the summer fire season but volunteer numbers are falling.

All available resources were used to fight more than 180 fires between Christmas and New Year.

CFS chief Euan Ferguson says many people do not have enough time to dedicate to firefighting.

"We are seeing good numbers of young volunteers but we're also seeing that those people are fully employed," he said.

"So in many areas of the state, we see that many of our volunteers aren't available for firefighting during the middle of the day, so we will actually need more volunteers in the future."

http://abc.gov.au/news/stories/2006/01/03/1540940.htm
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SES

Call goes out for more SES volunteers
ABC News
Posted Wed Nov 12, 2008 2:28pm AEDT


The New South Wales Government says despite recent increases in the number of State Emergency Services (SES) volunteers in the south-east, more are still needed.

Its National State Emergency Service Week, which recognises the state's 10,000 SES volunteers.

Emergency Services Minister Tony Kelly says greater numbers of volunteers are always welcome.

"They're spread right across NSW and they are always looking for new volunteers, particularly in some areas where they're in shortage," he said.

"We've got some 10,000 volunteers, they've increased significantly in recent years but we're always looking for more."
http://abc.gov.au/news/stories/2008/11/12/2417715.htm?site=news
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SES pleads for rural volunteers
ABC News
Posted Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:17pm AEDT

Tasmania's State Emergency Service (SES) is warning that services will suffer if it does not get more volunteers.

There is a critical shortage of SES volunteers in country areas, but numbers are stable in the cities.

The southern regional SES manager, Geoff Marsh, says the trend for people in the country not to volunteer is disturbing, as the SES is a vital part of small communities.

"We're the primary response in rural areas to road crash rescues," he said.

"We do the majority of that work in Tasmania.

"Also, we do storm and flood damage and we also support the other emergency services when they're heavily involved in fires or whatever."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/01/16/1548661.htm
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The Ambulance Service

Urgent call for volunteers
The Mercury
02/02/09

A CRITICAL shortage of volunteers is undermining the work of charities and emergency services.

Recruitment drives by organisations including the Volunteer Ambulance Officers Association of Tasmania and the Country Women's Association have failed to meet serious volunteer shortfalls.

Volunteer Ambulance Officers Association president Wayne Doran said strategies to combat the problem could include government intervention and provision of a volunteer allowance.

"The Government has to look at volunteers at all agencies and say, 'How can we better help you recruit and retain them?' If it comes down to providing an allowance, we need to look at that," Mr Doran said.

Compared with other states, Tasmania has a high rate of volunteering - about 36 per cent of the population.

But the Volunteer Ambulance Officers Association, SES in country areas, Red Cross, CWA and Meals on Wheels all say they are finding it harder to recruit new volunteers.

"People have a lot of commitments," said former CWA state president Jill Hayes.

"Their focus is on working to pay their mortgage and school fees."

Volunteering Tasmania acting CEO Adrienne Picone said younger people, who were especially hard to recruit, preferred short-term or one-off projects.

"What's happening is people are volunteering in different ways rather than in more traditional roles like Meals on Wheels or CWA," Ms Picone said.

"There's more episodic volunteering."

Red Cross Tasmania marketing manager Jane Crosswell said: "The focus of volunteering has changed quite a lot. We used to get volunteers who would stay for years and years but that doesn't seem to be the case now."

Mr Doran said the shortfalls in volunteer ambulance officers had become critical in some areas of the state.

In Bothwell, for instance, the ambulance service was manned by seven volunteers but required 12 to run effectively, he said.

"Our volunteers are drying up and we don't know why," Mr Doran said.

"Gen-Xers and Ys will join us but they want to be paid.

"It's time for the Government to look at providing some support."

http://www.vgate.net.au/calendars/tasmanianambulancevolunteers.php
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So yes in some areas there has been a rise in over all workload which outstriped workforce but in others its a drop in gross numbers. To take one example, our division was a the biggest unit in the state at around 50 active members. We now have less than 20 active members.

cosmictraveler thats about the responce i expected from an american. As read only said in another thread (though in reverse) "Its not the US, its Australia we are talking about". Public servants dont MAKE millions, in fact if i rember rightly there are only around 5 public servants being paid over $200,000
 
Asguard said:
I'm a member of an organisation completely dependent on volunteers, St John Ambulance....
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wha? You are part of an ambulance service completely run by volunteers? Seems like a specialized job that shouldn't be done by volunteers. I mean, you just can't get a guy off the street to be an EMT...or do you?
 
Orleander said:
wha? You are part of an ambulance service completely run by volunteers? Seems like a specialized job that shouldn't be done by volunteers. I mean, you just can't get a guy off the street to be an EMT...or do you?
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umm, a) yes there are volly ambos, the ambulance service puts them through a recognised certificate 4 in ambulance studies (at the services expense) which trains them how to do the job ect and they do placements on the ambulance as a "third" before they go back to there new unit to work as a volly.

b) St john ambulance service ISNT the ambulance (not in the way your thinking of it). Its a community level first aid organisation (for the most part, it does still run the ambulance service in WA and the NT) which can also be called on in natural disasters to become part of the department of health (specifically the hospital). We provide responce teams which can back up SAAS (the ambulance service) at mass casualty incidence and who also provide the first responce to bush fires (to provide medical case to the CFS, evacuees ect). Once again we are internally trained to do the job (in the case by St John) and we constantly do training (every week infact) to build and maintan our skills.
 
oh BTW, through St john i actually hold a cert 3 in pt care and if all goes to plan that will be upgraded this year to a cert 4 putting me level with the volly ambos from SAAS:)
 
Big government creates the apathy attitude; people don't care to volunteer or donate when the government will babysit them.
 
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