Filling the Gap

A few months ago I was made redundant from my job in the city and had a stand down period in which I was not allowed to work. After getting over the initial shock I was left wondering what to do with my sudden influx of spare time, so after a holiday I thought about coming down to The Passage to do some volunteer work. I knew about The Passage having spent a community team works day here with my previous company and had really enjoyed it so I came down to see if there was anything I was able to help with.

I got in contact with Sarah Norwood via the website and then David Boulton, both of whom were very welcoming and extremely grateful. Thanks to their ruthless efficiency, before I knew it I was wearing a pair of yellow gloves and a rather fetching apron and was elbow deep in dish water!

In short I found the volunteer work in the day centre really rewarding. Tasks ranged from clearing and wiping tables, serving breakfast and lunch, washing dishes, operating the till, working in the clothing store and helping out with odd jobs in the kitchen. Often I’d stop for chats with the clients and was able to find out more about their diverse backgrounds. In general the clients were easy to talk to and seemed to really enjoy the interaction. It was mutual.

At the end of each day I would leave The Passage with a very unique sense of fulfilment and I was always in a buoyant mood at the end of it. It really felt great.

While I was doing a shift one morning I got chatting to Bev McGregor who asked me if I wanted to come upstairs to the Education, Training and Employment (ETE) department which helps clients to get back on their feet through aiding with CV preparation, setting up email addresses,Voicemail4all accounts and advice on employment.

For me, imparting general PC skills that most of us take for granted was really enjoyable. Helping clients get set up and back on their feet and seeing them go through interview processes and have some success was just brilliant. These were tangible results as a direct result of our help.

While I was there I attended a Business in the Community (BITC) open day where CEO's from various bluechip companies including Marks & Spencers and Clifford Chance were present to find out more about providing work experience opportunities for clients. Seeing the clients interact with prominent business leaders was great and hopefully we will see some positive results come out of these invaluable sessions.

I cannot talk about my experience at The Passage without mentioning all of the staff and volunteers. It is hard to find appropriate adjectives to describe the sense of welcome and camaraderie they put across. Each day I spent volunteering would fly by and chats would be about anything and everything, from learning about peoples varying backgrounds, to politics, to priesthood to footballer’s salaries! They are a collectively a very caring bunch and I was really touched to be told that I was being prayed for by the weekly prayer group that another job would come along!

I have since found another role now so I will be working in the city again and my time here will be less frequent. If you are contemplating doing some volunteer work I can’t speak highly enough of the enriching experience that can be gained.

My time here has given me a great sense of perspective along with a good dose of realism and has made me appreciate smaller things that are otherwise taken for granted. Many of the homeless are just like you or I but have just had a bad run of luck, so I would implore you to exercise a little philanthropy and get in touch with The Passage!

Haydn Scott