‘It’s the smiles on their faces’: Northampton volunteer talks about what motivates her to help the homeless

A woman who has volunteered at the Northampton Hope Centre for two years has spoken out about her essential volunteering as part of #VolunteersWeek.

Clair Chapman first visited the local homelessness charity a number of years ago with a former employer, when they cooked a dinner for service users.

After the initial visit, Clair, who now works as a business development manager at Avon, wanted to do more.

The 45-year-old then started volunteering with the Sikh community when they gave out food to homeless people in the town, until the Hope Centre started opening at weekends.

Clair said: “When the Hope Centre started to open on a Saturday, it was perfect for me as I work full time in the week.

“I work every other Saturday and I’ve been doing that for about two years now.

“But I’m always here if they need me any other time.”

Clair is now a trained support worker so is able to complete referrals to help signpost service users to where they need to go for more help, but what she does varies from week to week.

She added: “Normally I like to speak to them, so I’ll do reception, give out towels for the showers, play games with them and help to serve food in the kitchen.

“This was obviously all pre-coronavirus.

“Now we prepare breakfasts and lunches and take them to the hotels. I like doing that as I get to see them and make sure they are OK.

“Then we’ll come back to the centre and prepare for the next day and make sure everything is cleaned down thoroughly.”

As the country thanks its unpaid workers as part of #Volunteersweek, Clair has also reflected on how volunteering has enriched her own life.

“I have always thought about homelessness. It was always at the back of my mind. I’d see someone homeless and feel so sorry for them especially if it was freezing,” she continued.

“It’s the service user’s smiles on their faces and knowing that when they are there they are safe that makes me want to help.

“And the Hope Centre doesn’t just offer them showers and things they give them a step up too, like helping with clothes for interviews and helping with benefits and things people don’t realise we do.

“As long as they need me, I’ll be there. I enjoy it and I love going there.

“The service users give me back more than I could ever give them. I enjoy just talking to them.

“Not everyone realises that every single service user has a story to tell and a reason why they are there.”

As organisations and charities are hit by the effects of the pandemic, Clair is also aware of how important local volunteers are and is welcoming more people to get involved.

“Everything in the town could not carry on without the volunteers,” she added.

“Every aspect of charity work needs volunteers to continue. It’s a massive part of how the Hope Centre is run.

“Most people have got time to give, but might not have money to give.

“I’d say to anyone to come down and see what we do, when it is safe to do so.”

Visit the Hope Centre website to find out more about their services and how to help.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper when you do your weekly shop.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you