Volunteers Week – Meet Matt

For Volunteers Week we asked one of our volunteers who has recently become a staff member, to tell us about his experience of volunteering with Mind in Mid Herts…

Why did you choose to volunteer for Mind in Mid Herts? 

Having heard about Mind in Mid Herts through a lecturer at university, who had nothing but amazing things to say about the charity I thought what better way than to help out my local community by volunteering at my local mind centre. I have always had an interest in mental health and helping people who may be struggling with such issues. Good mental health is so important and everybody deserves help and to be treated with respect whatever problems they may be having.      

Which centre and group did you volunteer for?

I volunteered in the St Albans centre, helping with the craft and motivational support group.       

What was your role?

My role was an assistant group facilitator.

How long did you volunteer for us?

I had been volunteering since November of 2019 and became a Senior Support Worker in May of 2020.

What have been the benefits of volunteering for you?

A sense of doing good and helping people who may have been marginalised in society. The satisfaction of just doing a couple of hours of volunteering a week was far greater than working 40 hours in a retail job. Actually making a difference in society is what drove me to continue volunteering and ultimately becoming a paid member of staff.

What’s your favourite thing about volunteering?

Talking to the service users and forming strong therapeutic relationships with them. Seeing them improve as the weeks go by and seeing how beneficial the charity is for many of the individuals.

Describe a special memory?

Being told by a service user that I make the best cups of tea!! In all seriousness though, the whole experience has been so fantastic that I cannot single out particular moments. I suppose just seeing and hearing service users really come out of their shells when they are in the group sessions, hearing about the positive things they are doing to help themselves and their peers by really motivating each other is something that will stay with me.

Posted on: 4th June 2020