Everywhere you look on the Internet, charitable causes have set up websites offering services and se
eking donations. How do you navigate the maze of charities when you are in need of help? One man has appeared online in the Twitterverse with a helping hand to those in need. Richard Bassett, CADAC has opened a place on Twitter to guide people in the often grueling task of finding someone who can help them in a time of crisis. Richard has brought his knowledge and expertise of putting those in need together with a charity that can actually assist them with their individual requirements.When I first spoke with Richard I was struck by his naturally calming demeanor. A man with a gentle strength and deep knowledge of the struggle those who are often invisible in our communities face each day. Richard imparts his background in social services, counseling and community support with an ease that is both comforting and dynamic. After a few moments of speaking with him I realized this is the person of whom I wanted to be in contact if I was faced with an emergency situation.
His journey to date is the stuff of Hollywood and it is where his story actually begins. Living in LA during the 1980s Richard was an aspiring actor who supplemented his income as an X-Ray Technician. Which as he put it “I could make much more money (opposed to a being valet or a waiter) and could adjust my hours around my auditions.” In 1984 Richard began working with a colleague, amFar director Dr. Michael Gottlieb doing chest X-Rays of HIV/AIDS patients. “I took the radiographs of these patients and they were the worst chest x-rays I had ever seen in my career. “ He explained. “I was crushed to see healthy patients literally die in a matter of weeks. There was no treatment at the time.”
Richard eventually gave up his dreams of being an actor and returned to his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. His eventual rise to a management position in radiology left him cut off from working with the patients about whom he cared so deeply. To reconnect, Richard began volunteering with the AIDS Helpline. Bassett adds, “In talking to thousands of callers, I concluded that AIDS and Addiction were massive issues.”
Richard stepped away from his comfortable career in medical management and return to college to pursue a degree in social services. Even though some tried to dissuade him, Richard was determined to follow this new path. He adds, “I got a job as an HIV/AIDS Case Manager and returned to school, (University of Massachusetts), and became a Certified Drug & Alcohol Addictions Counselor specializing in dual diagnoses. I took to it like a fish to water.”
In 2009 Richard began looking for a way to assist greater numbers of people. Twitter became the perfect outlet to share his information and experience in social services with a wider audience. Richard’s goal was to create a place where he could easily be contacted and interact with the immediacy that is so often required when a person is searching for help. He began a simple but effective Tweet dialogue with those he could see shared his goals of helping others and joined a community that is always ready to retweet his message to their networks for greater reach.
He has made himself available to help others on Twitter (http://twitter.com/RichBassett) where he has listed many of the charities and organizations with which he has worked. Each day he sends out beacons of hope in the form of tweets containing the names and links to trusted charities; tweets that he knows can lead those in need of assistance back to him for compassionate guidance.
Richard Bassett provides HIV/AIDS Counseling in Boston You can reach him on Twitter @RichBassett
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