#VolunteersWeek - Alex
Volunteers - A spotlight on the people who make a difference.
All sorts of people, for all sorts of reasons, volunteer.
As part of Volunteers Week we want to celebrate and show our appreciation for some of the amazing people who support and contribute to Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust. We hope they inspire and motivate you to make the most of your neighbourhood.
Today the spotlight is on Alex, our Community-led Housing Project Manager.
I have spent the last 4 years working alongside residents and Trustees to bring forward 2 affordable housing projects that are designed and owned by the community. We have also successfully influenced Council housing policy to ensure all new housing developments built in Lockleaze benefit the existing community!
Outside of work, I enjoy running and exploring an endless amount of interesting and beautiful places across Bristol. For the past 18 months, I have also been volunteering with a local charity, Bridges for Communities. This amazing organisation runs a BeFriending Project, whereby refugees and asylum seekers resettled in and around the city, are partnered with Bristol citizens who provide them with additional support.
Over the last year and a half, I have volunteered with a family of Afghan refugees who were moved into my neighbourhood. As well as helping with a lot of administrative and logistical work - that can often be very confusing when you don’t speak the language and are not familiar with UK processes - it has been an incredibly rewarding experience and privilege to get to know the family well and become their friends and neighbours. It was always my intention to make them feel welcome in their new Country and City but could not have predicted that I would be made to feel so welcome in their home. Not once have I been able to leave a visit without a belly full of food and tea. They are a remarkable family that have embraced their UK life with enthusiasm, despite an extraordinarily difficult and traumatic situation, having been forced to flee their native home.
Having no expectations when signing up to the BeFriending programme, I have been amazed by how much difference even the smallest amount of time, support and kindness can make. The eldest son is enrolled in College, has a part-time job, friends and is now learning to drive.
I have loved volunteering with this charity and it has given me so much in return, having made a set of new friends as a result. I would absolutely encourage anyone who is looking to help to get involved with this amazing project. You can find out more information here: bridgesforcommunities.com/programmes/b-friend/
Hopefully I will see you at one of their volunteer social events or walking around Lockleaze soon!
Alex x
Thank you Alex, From the team at Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust.