Simon on the Streets are a charity devoted to supporting people who are homeless and sleeping rough on the streets through intensive support programmes, street outreach work and weekly soup-runs. They reach out to vulnerable people who need help but may be excluded from or refuse other services for various reasons, and are then left unsupported. Every year they host an event called “Sleeping with Simon”, in which members from
My experience and challenges as a refugee are to be summarised as less challenging than the Asylum and post asylum era where I can say I saw everything from deprivation, financial challenges and homelessness. Getting the refugee status was a big sigh of relief because it unlocked doors which have been locked and kept me in a limbo to access any rights. The next challenge was to engage with the
Thank you to all Touchstone Volunteers and everyone who volunteers! Volunteers’ Week is an annual celebration of the fantastic contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK. Touchstone volunteers are an amazing group of people who are passionate friendly, engaged and dedicated in supporting Touchstone, and we thank them this week and beyond for their contributions. Volunteer Role: Group Facilitator at Touchstone Support Centre What is your volunteer role
Another story for Volunteers' Week - this time from Amina, who went from volunteering with Touchstone to getting a job with Touchstone's Peer-Led Brokerage Service. You do not hear many people say this, but I am truly blessed as I love my job and the organisation I work within. Volunteering has enabled me to reach this point and I would like to share my experience with others to give hope. This
Volunteers' Week celebrates the work of volunteers across the country. To mark it, we're publishing the stories of some of our great volunteers past and present, starting with Nafeesa who volunteers with The Kirklees Advocacy Service and Peer-Led Brokerage Service. After working in the retail sector for 13 years. I felt the need for a new challenge. In 2011 I took on a voluntary role as a befriender in a women's
This post originally appeared on the Doing Good Leeds site, you can find it here. Mental health and volunteering Anyone can be affected and for some individuals mental health issues can return for any number of reasons. People experiencing mental health issues may choose to volunteer for a variety of reasons. Volunteering allows them to feel a sense of purpose or achievement, to gain new skills and experience, to socialise,