Volunteered for two years with a college student-run clinic that provided weekly services and advocacy for the homeless. Worked with social workers, laywers and law students, doctors and med students, chiropractors, secured food and drink donations from local places like bagel shops, clothing drives, etc. Interacted with teenagers (often kids who got kicked out of their families due to LGBTQ+) to the elderly. We had a program called “A Day in the Life” in which one homeless person who was close with the clinic let a student shadow him. We ran a 0.5 credit class with the university discussing topics around homelessness and making efforts to effect change, but also a little self defense and de-escalation tactics.
Experience was overwhelmingly positive, with some bumps-in-the-road that were opportunities for growth. It opened my eyes from the bubble of suburban life that I grew up with. There’s no easy solution to homelessness. It’s complex af.
Most of my volunteering has been I wildlife conservation, but it has also included direct action with Greenpeace, FOE and others, running Stop The War stalls, organising coaches for protests in London, helping our at day care centres for the elderly, giving illustrated talks, undertaking bat surveys ( I have literally just finished one tonight) and dormouse monitoring, reenactment and storytelling for a local museum, car parking and running tea stalls at festivals, was a local secretary for a social organisation for about a decade and probably various other things that I can’t recall just now. And i have been on a variety of committees for various organisations over the years of course.
A few of the experiences have been tedious, a few have been outright depressing due to the negativity and simple apathy of the public, but the overwhelming majority have extremely rewarding and positive experiences. I have been to some amazing places that I had no idea existed before, I have met plenty of knowledgeable, enthusiastic and caring people - some of whom became long-term friends - and I changed career and ended up working in conservation, leading volunteer teams for several years, as a result of my own volunteering.
Overall, i have found it to be beneficial physically, mentally and socially, with basically nothing negative to say about it other than the need to set limits and know when to disengage. It can take over entirely otherwise.
I find that for most people who do it intensely it’s a calling, whereas others are new to it and surprised how simple and easy it is to contribute. Don’t overthink how to make the best impact, just schedule some time and search online for groups. For those looking to dip a toe in:
Trash pickup days are a great casual entry point. It’s a good mix of “people are the worst” and “I helped”. It’s not that there’s some volunteering culture that gatekeeps, but less organized groups will suck in an infinite amount of your free time because the potential work is never done. More developed organizations often have casual days for newcomers.
Tornado cleanup has been a next step though obviously disaster specific (America ofc). I suppose any disaster cleanup is equivalent. We’re not a religious family but in America we found that churches were the rally points for cleanup efforts… Which led to a lot of junk mail later.
Soup kitchens & food distribution to homeless in colder months is an easy way to contribute some help to people who are immediately in need without committing to community service as a lifestyle.
