Forums » Art & Creativity » (Closed) Custom Epic Style + Hourglass Giveaway

For my plans regarding 2023, while I really don't have a lot of money due to being chronically ill and not able to work, the thing I absolutely can give is time.
Think for example someone working from home or any 9 to 5 job, they will have to spend a lot of time to earn their money for their families - so I guess I have a lot more time on my hands.

I'm living in some kind of early retirement home for not necessarily old people but all those who can't work because of their mental illness. A lot of these people are pretty old too, and most of them have been taking medication for the bigger part of their whole life. Their days are mostly the same, afraid to leave the house, taking a lot of naps because of side effects, not having many things planned because everything seems 'too much'.

While I'm also living there, I think that I'm definitely in a position where I can spend time to make their lives a brighter and happier place. Together with the staff working there (nurses, caretakers, social workers, and such) everyone of us who feels like helping, there's an additional building to our homes that is used as a little workshop for creative things, no matter if it's coloring a picture, playing cards games, talking and having coffee together or crafting little pieces of decoration, sweet little gifts that we sell at some occasions, there are even machines like saws where we can work with wood.

Aside from the fact that I sometimes have the habit of buying things I don't really need rather a bit out of compulsive reasons, and always bring everything useful (crafting materials like paint, glue, wool, fabric, patterned paper,... But also books, games,...) to the workshop place so everyone can use it, we started making a little newspaper of sorts, where all who are interested can be part of creating it.

This newspaper group is kind of new still, we have only 2 of them released yet. They are based on seasons, so it will be 4 per year, spring, summer, autumn and winter.
As one of the few people there who own a computer, I've been coordinating things with the newspaper group. While I collect every article and put them together in a printable document, all the creative work is done by the people who take part. This means a wonderful variety of things. It's so amazing to see how much fun the people have with their ideas. And since they all have different abilities and weaknesses, I've been volunteering a lot to help them get their idea done on paper so it's fit for the newspaper magazine formatting. This ranges from typing their handwritten notes into the computer over writing down what they tell me to write down. Helping them in whatever way possible to be able and put their own ideas and thoughts into the magazine, whether they are verbal or not, taking pictures, scanning drawings, little interviews, questions, jokes, memories, interests...

The list is endless and I'm so proud of all of them. At first glance you sometimes would not think how much they have to say when you ask them, what kind of adventures their lives have been. I've seen depressed people who have troubles getting up in the morning and do their chores spend a lot of time on their entries and articles, more excited and passionate than I have ever seen them before. I've seen sad, quiet people who are anxious to leave their room coming to the newspaper meetings regularly, chatting with the others attending, smiling with joy when they get involved in their passions, hobbies and interests, stories of their past, former work places, their family, their kids, pets and native language, if they have another.

I love this newspaper idea a lot and while I'm not the one who came up with it or started the organization, I still will spend a lot of time with the people, finding ways to express their entries and articles, helping to organize things, and collecting all the pieces, texts, photos, drawings, and design the layout of the magazine pages on my laptop so it can be printed easily.

There are other aspects inside our home where help is always appreciated and where I often spend some time with. Cooking and cleaning, doing laundry, providing shared apartments with things like soap, toiler paper, and all, together with the housekeeping department. They of course do a great job all the time, but they also are thankful for some helping hands. It's like whoever of us feels well enough in a day to do more than bare necessities, helps out with other things as well, so if you have a bad day or are sick, then there are others helping you this time.

I really enjoy all of that, but the newspaper is definitely my heart in these regards