Local Care Networks become Sangha Support Networks
Mahasraddha writes: We are renaming the Local Care Network project as the Sangha Support Network to better reflect the nature of these networks, and to avoid connotations of the word ‘care’, including medical care; to emphasise that Triratna’s Sangha Support Networks are not intended to replace professional health services but to supplement them with human values such as metta and kalyana mitrata.
We hope that these Sangha Support Networks will connect into the often untapped reservoir of skills, knowledge, experience, time, and the desire to contribute that exists within local sanghas, and provide a meaningful opportunity for members of a local sangha to collaborate in a coordinated manner - in a different way to involvement in classes and Centres. Contributions can range from offering advice on accessing local authority support services, accompanying someone to a medical appointment, DIY projects, shopping, gardening and more.
Interest in sangha to sangha support is growing rapidly within our international Order and Movement, partly due to the increasing awareness of the ageing demographic within the Order.
For more information about Sangha Support Networks, including guidance and advice on setting one up in your local sangha, please contact me, Mahasraddha at mahasraddha@abhayaratnatrust.org.
The Abhayaratna Trust has seen the potential in developing a network of local support for elderly and unwell members of the Triratna Buddhist Order. It’s another step in our encouraging a consistent culture of care in the Triratna Community.
Why do we need such networks?
Between 1976 and 2017, the average age at ordination doubled to the mid-fifties. As we age, we become more susceptible to infirmity, illness and disability. Mahasraddha, director of The Abhayaratna Trust, says: ‘The Order is, and has been, good at responding to individual Order members in need on an ad hoc basis, but when you look at our demographic time bomb, this approach may well not meet the expected increase in support needs of Order members in the near future. Added to this is the fact that many members, including pioneers who devoted most of their working lives to building the Order and Movement, have few financial resources.’
How do they work?
The vision which has been piloted in a some UK centres is that a Local Care Network Group is established around Buddhist Centres to give guidance and assistance, with the backing of the Abhayaratna Trust, to those in the local sangha who need some support other than professional resources. The group might be involved in accessing financial assistance and accessing other services, or simply creating a rota to help with shopping. These local networks can help to reinforce the existing culture of care in our Triratna community. If you are interested in starting a local care network in your Centre, or discussing ideas you have for looking out for each other in the Order, contact Mahasraddha (mahasraddha@abhayaratnatrust.org), director of the Abhayaratna Trust.
Videos - interviews and discussion
Discussion on Sangha Support Networks across continents
Mahasraddha organised an international discussion with Order members who are interested in being involved with the Local Care Network, (now call Sangha Support Network), from New Zealand, Mexico and the United States. In this one hour video they discuss the relevance of such a network in their different situations.
Maniprabha on caring for Shraddhapushpa
On the topic of care and support in sanghas, Mahasraddha recently engaged in conversation with Maniprabha, who was part of a small group of people in London looking after Shraddhapushpa towards the end of her life. It’s a deeply moving and inspiring story of people coming together to support an Order friend.
Meditation in action - an interview with Aryasuri in New Zealand
An impetus for local care initiatives comes from the ageing demographic of the Order and the anticipated increase in support needs which means we may need to be more organised than relying solely on local friends. Abhayaratna Trust is encouraging sanghas to prepare for this eventuality. In most sanghas, it will not involve developing anything particularly new but rallying existing resources.
In this video, Aryasuri, one of the Abhayaratna Trust’s representatives in New Zealand, gives a vibrant account of her thoughts about care in the Order, partly drawn from her experiences of many years as a health care professional.
‘It’s a great project’ - Dhammadinna
The issue of looking out for one another is becoming more pressing with the changing demographic of the Order. In this video Mahasraddha talks with Dhammadinna about how care is part of the natural fabric of sangha and how something a bit more organised, such as a Local Care Network might help us be more proactive in anticipating people’s needs, by drawing resources together and acting as a channel for the already existing network of Kalyana Mitrata.
Why LCNs are a good idea - a conversation with Paramashanti
Care and support related to physical and/or mental health can arise at any age, so the Local Care Network project is actually not age-specific. The Local Care Network project has been piloted in several Triratna Centres. Click on the video image to learn more.
Next of kin & UK and national health service
Despite widespread use of the phrase, ‘next of kin’ the word is not defined by the law. So an Order Member can be your ‘next of kin’ despite the fact that your friendship is not legally recognised.
However, in practice hospitals have generally recognised only spouses and close blood relatives as next of kin and have sometimes excluded cohabiting partners, let alone a community member or close Order friend. To read more and download a ‘next of kin card’ click here.
Conversations with those living with disability, neurological degenerative diseases and mental health difficulties
An inspiring interview with Vajrin
This interview with Mahasraddha, in which Vajrin talks about an accident that left him permanently in a wheelchair and how this impacted on his Dharma practice and his view on the world, is well worth watching.
Vajrin is clear that it has been a very difficult time, including five major surgical operations during the pandemic. Yet he is articulate and inspiring in explaining how it has also been heart opening and enhanced his capacity for empathy.
To watch or read more of our interviews with Order members living with disability, neurological degenerative diseases and mental health difficulties, click on this link.