Peer Leader Spotlight: Pam LaChance
Pam LaChance volunteers her time as a Peer Leader facilitating the “Healthy Living: Pathways to Positive Change” and “Living Well with Diabetes: Pathways to Control Your Blood Sugar” programs for the Bombay Community Center.
Q: What inspired you to become a peer leader?
A: I’ve been a nurse my whole life — I graduated from nursing school right out of high school in 1979, and over the years I’ve done a lot of teaching, including teaching nursing for a while. Being a peer leader isn’t quite like being a teacher, but nurses are also advocates and supporters, so it drew me in. A colleague of mine, who’s also retired now, mentioned she was leading a class, and that piqued my interest. I love people, I love serving, and I love the Lord — it all goes together.
Q: Can you describe your role as a peer leader? What does it involve?
A: I think it is really important to highlight that through the comprehensive training offered by our Master Trainers, peer leaders work through scripted material and are taught how to navigate different situations, which in turn allows them to “know what they’re talking about”
Q: What did you like about the one-hour session?
A: I used to be a nurse educator and case manager at the diabetes center in Hogansburg, and I was certified to teach a two-hour diabetes education class through a different network. I think what I like about the one-hour format is that today people are reluctant to commit to something two hours long — we’re used to grabbing snippets of information, whether from the internet, TV, books, or magazines. People don’t have the time, or the willingness to dedicate, that they used to. What I found — and I think Julie did too — is that the one-hour class whetted people’s appetite and opened the door for them if they wanted more.
Q: As a peer leader, what did you get out of this workshop?
A: I was moved in so many ways by how people opened up. I’m not naturally an “open-upper” myself — I tend to keep things in reserve, and sometimes I have to step out of my own comfort zone to work with other people. I think a lot of people are like that. But I saw this group — even though they kind of knew each other already — become vulnerable, talking about things they didn’t agree with, questions they had, things in their lives that had affected them. I don’t think you’d see that in just an ordinary group of people. We were part of something being woven together.
Closing reflections:
A: I fell in love with these people. I want to go back and just be part of the community — when my life slows down, since even though I’m retired, I seem busier than ever. I want to just sit and share as part of the community, not as a peer leader. I think we all need to be more aware of taking time with people, because we never know how our words are going to impact someone. This whole group dynamic that we built impacted each of us, and I’m anxious to do it again with another group.
