Sharing experience

The focus of the work that the volunteers did was to spend time with the residents of the centres.  Typically the residents were long-term homeless people who the host organisation was attempting to move into a more stable type of accommodation.  The volunteers’ role was to make personal contact with residents and to help make their time in the shelters more meaningful.  The volunteers organised many day trips and other activities on the basis of the interests and hobbies of the residents.  The volunteers gave an insight into their own countries and provided very valuable companionship to the residents at a time when they often had little of this.  The impact of this work of the volunteers was immense on the residents of the shelters and the volunteers themselves. It is important to note that the volunteers received training in every aspect of the work that they did and had the support and supervision of qualified staff members at all times.  It is acknowledged that the work was very challenging at times due to the difficult nature of the residents’ lives but the host organisation did everything in its control to properly prepare the volunteers for, and to support them during, the experience.