Jonathan Pain works fulltime but still finds time to volunteer with a number of charities which help some of the most vulnerable people in the borough.

For the last two years he’s volunteered with the Night Light Winter Shelter in Basingstoke. He’s a trustee and treasurer of the charity that runs it, as well as being the director of, and volunteer driver for, Community Food Link Basingstoke, and trustee and team leader with Basingstoke Street Pastors.

“At the shelter, I provide IT support, managing rotas and ensuring efficient communication between the volunteers regarding shifts, meal planning and training needs,” Jonathan says.

“I also volunteer for the evening and overnight shifts, supporting the guests through friendly conversation, board games and other supervised activities. As treasurer, I also ensure that volunteers are refunded for their out-of-pocket expenses, for example buying food for evening and morning meals.”

Why the shelter needs people

Jonathan’s involvement started in admin and training as a trustee, but he quickly became aware that more volunteers would be needed to ensure the shelter remained able to help those in need.

“I became aware that the numbers required to make it run effectively were not going to be met easily from those who initially came forward”, he says.

“The project had been run on a much smaller scale during the COVID-19 pandemic and so some former volunteers had not returned to help the project when it returned to operating seven days a week.

“If the shelter could not operate due to a lack of venues or volunteers, there would be 12 more people having to sleep rough in the Basingstoke area.”

What it takes

“There are no particular skills needed to support this project as volunteers, although a compassionate nature and an ability to be vigilant around safeguarding are key”, Jonathan says.

“People who can carry and set up camp beds, tables and chairs are very helpful at the beginning and end of each shift and those with experience of catering for up to 20 people and who have a good working knowledge of nutrition and food hygiene are particularly helpful for meal preparation.”

What he gets back

“I get immense satisfaction out of knowing that I have made a difference simply by being present and enabling this project to go ahead”, Jonathan says.

“It also provides me with a brilliant network of contacts and opportunities to support others pastorally in other ways.”

One moment stands out to him. “When one of the guests chose me to ask for help with something that was particularly troubling her outside of the shelter, it showed me that I had gained the respect and trust of the guests and made me realise the importance of what we were doing.”

“Volunteering for the shelter has increased my self-belief and has given me a network of individuals to draw upon in running projects tackling food poverty and promoting social inclusion through the remainder of the year”, he adds.

“It has increased my awareness of the circumstances that lead our guests to find themselves without a safe and satisfactory shelter and increased my resolve to bring about change.”

For anyone weighing it up, Jonathan is reassuring. “Full training is provided and there are a strong team of experienced volunteers who are always willing to help show new people what needs to be done. I often tell people that volunteering helps me to fill a gap in my sense of purpose. Though I work full-time, it is always possible to find space to do something good for others, however small. Volunteering repays you in different ways to paid work or doing things for your own benefit and I think that everyone should do it, even if just one shift of a couple of hours now and again.”