Stories from our volunteers
Our volunteers hold a truly diverse range of meaningful roles.
We have volunteer prisoners mentoring other prisoners, as well as volunteers protecting the rights of young people, driving mobile clinics and promoting and delivering our needle exchanges. We have volunteers dispensing naloxone, conducting dry blood spot testing, using their lived experience to motivate and inspire others, and supporting our admin teams. The list goes on.
Read the personal stories of some of our volunteers below. If their stories have inspired you, explore our volunteer opportunities.
Sophie's story - a Peer Mentor at a Young People's Service in Kirklees
Sophie is a Peer Mentor at The Base, our children and young people’s service in Kirklees. She explains how her age and her experience as a former service user really help her connect with the young people she supports.
“I’ve been volunteering at as a Peer Mentor for almost three years. I was a service user myself with The Base and when I finished my journey with the service, I was asked if I wanted to help other people by volunteering, and I said, "absolutely!"
A couple of the children I have worked with were young and I read stories to them, bringing them to life with puppets. Stories are a really good way to engage children in conversations about home life in an age-appropriate way. The children really engaged in the story, and they talked about what was happening in their own lives.
During the appointments, I feel the young people accessing the service can relate to me as I am closer in age to them. It makes me feel I’m doing something good and I’m helping to make a difference to the people we work with.
I had an amazing opportunity to take part in the creation of an animation about my journey and do the voice recording for it. I attended the animation launch last year and it’s been used in one-to-one appointments, group work and training sessions for professionals. I am really glad my story is being used to help other young people and professionals: this makes me feel that the challenges I faced are being transformed into something positive.
I’m looking forward to taking on the lead facilitator role, supported by the resilience workers, in one-to-one appointments, and moving onto facilitating assessments. When my son starts nursery full time later in the year, I will be able to start applying for paid roles in the sector.
It’s a great feeling to be able to help other people and give something back to the service that helped me. Volunteering makes me feel like I make a difference.”
Carl's story - a Peer Mentor in His Majesty’s Prisons
"I work as a Peer Mentor for CGL in his Majesty’s Prisons. I was given this responsibility, as I myself have used the service and benefited greatly. I chose to help give back and support others overcome the same struggles I did.
My role as a Peer Mentor involves being available to support prisoners and staff alike and help all people who engage with the service along their journey.
I enjoy the sense of giving back and using my experience to guide and support others. I love what I do and the work CGL do in prisons and the community, and I am thankful for their continued belief in myself and others."
Lee's story - a Group Support Volunteer in Warrington
“I feel so privileged to be on the Level 2 Recovery Worker course, it’s a massive opportunity for a volunteer like me who wants to work within recovery. I know lived experience can go a long way, but to get a qualification for this field will help massively for my CV and future career.
I have loved being a volunteer at Change Grow Live, it has taught me so much. Not just about recovery but how to ‘live life on life’s terms’, and how – when hard times come - I can get through them without using substances. It’s also made me come out of my shell, given me confidence, helped me change my attitude and have a new perspective on life.
Today, I have purpose: to help people still struggling. That is all thanks to Change Grow Live for inviting me on this course and shaping me into the person I’ve always wanted to be. I’m so grateful and now I can share the brilliant news that through hard work, determination and dedication I can say that I’ve got a job in Change Grow Live as a Recovery Champion and the next part of my journey will start soon.
Thanks Mo and all the team involved in delivering this course and Change Grow Live as a whole. You’ve not just saved my life but given me a new life and I can’t wait to be on board as a member of staff.”
Fiona's story - a Recovery Support Volunteer in Stirling
"As a retired GP with time in my hands I wanted to find some worthwhile volunteering in the community and joined Change Grow Live about 2 years ago.
Initially I was assigned to the Harm Reduction team and helped dispense new injecting equipment and went out in the streets of Stirling trying to forge relationships with those on the streets who would hopefully at some point in the future seek our help with their addiction. I also spent some time doing the Triage Clinic, seeing service users for their very first appointments in the service and at the homeless unit.
I am now currently holding a small caseload of clients who I see on a regular basis for support with their addiction so enjoying the continuity of this.
There is therefore a wide range of roles you can be involved in and there is something for everyone. If you want to do something worthwhile then Change Grow Live is a very inclusive and welcoming organisation. They offer further training and ongoing support, and I would highly recommend joining as a volunteer if this is an area you might be interested in."
Izzy's story - a Young Person’s Resilience Volunteer in Sheffield
"I chose to volunteer here as I wanted to help people, gain new experiences, and apply what I have learnt while studying my degree into a professional setting.
My role includes working with young people on a one-to-one basis, offering them a tailored non-judgemental approach to their substance use. This can range from helping the young person reduce harm when taking substances to helping them reduce or stop their substance use.
While volunteering, my confidence has improved. Recently, I have had the opportunity to run joint sessions with some of my colleagues to young people. In these sessions I have spoken to young people about what stop and search is and what they should do if this happens to them.
I feel more confident in other aspects of my life too, for example volunteering has had a positive impact on my university studies, as it offers me first-hand experience of situations that may be challenging at times.
I always look forward to coming in for volunteering, as the team makes me feel valued and appreciated. I really enjoy my role, but my favourite part has to be when you can see the young person has taken onboard what you have said to them, and you can see the change in them from the beginning of the session."
Tony's story - a Service User Involvement Volunteer in Sefton
"I chose the role because I was a service user myself at Change Grow Live. It is a perfect way to progress with my recovery and to give back my time to the service that helped me through a very difficult time in my life.
I really enjoy engaging with the people we support and helping them with any questions they may have about the groups we have available. I also enjoy helping to get new projects up and running like starting a forum for service users to have a platform to have their voices heard in our service.
I am extremely proud of my position at Change Grow Live due to the recovery journey I have been through so far. Now I am helping people who are in the place I was 12 months previous.
The biggest sense of achievement I have had was when someone I was supporting was discussing with me how they were really struggling financially so I gave them some advice on how they can get support and now they are receiving the right benefits which has really helped them out."