On Tuesday 22nd October Neil, our Community Support Worker, was interviewed by Crisis about his experience volunteering at Crisis at Christmas.
For those unaware, Crisis at Christmas is an annual event organised by Crisis, a fellow homelessness charity. The event, which takes place within three hotels across London, welcomes people who are struggling with homelessness so they can get out of the cold, have a hot meal, seek emotional support and access resources to help them move on from homelessness.
Every year members of Emmaus SLC staff, Companions, trustees, and friends volunteer for Crisis at Christmas. We have previously interviewed James Hayes, our CEO, about the importance of volunteering at Crisis at Christmas.
We asked Neil some questions about the interview.
What was the purpose of the crisis interview and why were you chosen?
The purpose of the interview was to create a video to promote volunteering at Crisis at Christmas.
Crisis were looking for volunteers with lived experience of homelessness that were willing to share their stories to help promote Crisis. Being a volunteer with lived experience I was keen to get involved and help in any way that I could and after sharing my experiences with the Crisis stories team, they selected me to be part of the social media campaign to raise awareness of volunteering.
Can you talk about your experience volunteering at Crisis at Christmas and what you learned from it?
The first thing that amazed me was the size of the operation that they provide. Having experienced homelessness myself, in a small town in Bedfordshire, there was nothing like Crisis at Christmas available. So, seeing how much there is to offer the guests from haircuts, activities, advice, support, and the 2 weeks that the guests get to stay there, was just amazing to see. I love volunteering at Crisis at Christmas because you get to meet some really nice people, both volunteers and guests, and getting to see the guests after they have been there for a couple of days and they have had their haircut, a shower, some food and have got to have some rest, they look so happy, which makes me happy. Crisis also do an amazing job with their advice team, so many of the guests will be helped to find accommodation and will not have to return to the streets.
Why do you think are the positives of volunteering?
I know from experience how grateful I was when people would give up their time, so I could have a Christmas dinner. So, by volunteering your time, others can have a nice Christmas, and some rest is just priceless.
What do you hope will come of the video?
I hope that it will encourage more people to volunteer at Crisis at Christmas. Crisis can only put on this much needed resource for people experiencing homelessness, by having enough volunteers.
We look forward to seeing the interview video. We will share a link on our socials for when it is released.
If you would like to learn more about Crisis at Christmas, please see their website here.