Volunteer Profile: Jason Bennett

Jason Bennett

Jason would like people to know that he was born with a mild form of Cerebral Palsy and is passionate about raising awareness around issues concerning adults with disabilities who are also living with HIV.

How did you hear about Shanti and what prompted you to become a Shanti peer facilitator for the L.I.F.E Program? How long have you been a volunteer?

Right after I moved from Georgia in 2010, I was diagnosed with AIDS and I started searching for HIV/AIDS support groups. When I first found out about Shanti, I started coming to the Shanti L.I.F.E Experience potluck, and then I found out about the Shanti L.I.F.E 12-week Workshop and so I thought, "Hey! I can learn a lot more about HIV and about self-care." The Workshop really taught me so much about myself and about HIV/AIDS, and not only that, but about how my peers in my L.I.F.E. Experience class gained a lot from the beginning to the end. Each time I attended a L.I.F.E Workshop cycle, I learned so much about myself and it’s been a great experience. When I moved out to San Francisco, I did not know one soul in the city. My family is deceased, so Shanti was really my first extended family – the family that I adopted into my heart.

In your time as a peer facilitator, what is one of your most memorable moments?

One thing that really inspired me is to see long-term survivors and newly-diagnosed people connect together and see how each of them learned from and support each other. I became very close to the people in the workshop with me. We kept meeting for a few months after the workshop was over. Little bits and pieces of the relationship with each person I met added up to a monument, and that would never have happened without Shanti.

Are there any valuable lessons you have learned from the community?

There is hardly a day in the week in San Francisco without seeing someone that I met through Shanti. It really makes me feel like I am making a lot of friends and extending my family. In all the workshops and groups there are familiar faces and fresh faces – it’s always a balance. I’m very surprised about how much my peers can tell me about different HIV access to care throughout the city, facts about what’s available for all the different aspects of HIV care. If I hear someone needs some information and I know something, I share. You can only learn so much from the computer: word of mouth and face-to-face contact cannot be underestimated.

What would you say to someone who was considering becoming a Shanti volunteer?

I would tell them how Shanti had changed my life and would invite them to come to Shanti L.I.F.E Experience potluck to learn more about the benefits at Shanti. Several months ago I graduated from SF State RAMS Peer Mental Health Specialist Certificate Program, and so often in that program I talked about my volunteering at Shanti. The instructor was looking for places that RAMS graduates could volunteer, so I told her about Shanti.

What are some fun facts you can tell us about yourself? What might someone be surprised to know about you?

I grew up in a very, very small town called Pine Log, Georgia. It’s not on many maps, but it is on Facebook. Pine Log does not have any stoplights, but we do have a school and a fire station. But the post office is in another town a mile away, across the railroad tracks. I’m a small-town country boy. People might be surprised that in 1994 I graduated from University of Georgia, and I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. A lot of people don’t know about that. And my tattoos: let me tell you about them. In college I would go with my fraternity brothers to tattoo parlors when they would get tattoos, and every time I would chicken out. But since I’ve been in San Francisco, I had thought about it a lot. I met someone at RAMS who introduced me to a tattoo artist he trusted, so I went for it! I decided to go with SF-themed tattoos, so I have the Ferry Building, the Cliff House, and Lombard Street on my arms, and a Golden Gate Bridge across my chest. Tony Bennett sang "I left my heart in San Francisco." I took the liberty of changing the words to "I found my heart in San Francisco." All of my family is deceased. My parents passed away, and my sister died when she was a baby. I’m so glad that Shanti accepted me. Now I have a really good excuse to stay in San Francisco.