My name is Jane, I’m 32 years old and I have been volunteering for Shelter from the Storm for around four years. When I’m not volunteering I run an independent record company. I have always aimed to divide my time between music and social work but it’s not always easy to find a way.
Throughout my 20s I organised a number of fundraising events for Crisis and Shelter, but never managed to feel like I was truly learning anything about homelessness or making a difference in a meaningful way to me. I discovered Shelter from the Storm through a friend who volunteered there and I knew straight away from my first shift on new years day, a little worse for wear, that it was exactly what I had been looking for: non-judgemental, non-bureaucratic and open minded. Shelter from the Storm has no brand or ethos other than to care for people with nowhere to turn.
I work the saturday evening shift from 5pm to 9pm and generally either help out in the kitchen cooking and serving dinner or just mill around catching up with the guests and folding the odd duvet cover. I’m also involved in the fundraising side. We have some great partners over the years – Mother Advertising Agency, Paramount, Mason and Taylor, the Duke of Cambridge – and we have been lucky to have some of the best musical and comedy talent in the country give up their time for us in the past. Hopefully this will continue to grow as we rely entirely on donations for our existence.
To new volunteers i would say: this is not a place to come to be badged up and told what to do. The volunteers ARE the shelter – if you see something which could be improved, don’t think that it’s someone else’s responsibility, just get on with it. It’s a very empowering feeling and it will change how you interact with the world in your day to day life.