I began volunteering with Citizens Advice in North & West Kent in 2018. With my former career in IT Project Management having been curtailed early following health challenges, I was searching for a vocation that would be both challenging and rewarding but at the same time wouldn’t exhaust my reduced physical capacity.
I was recommended Citizens Advice by a friend and following research, spoke with the Advice Service Manager at my local Citizens Advice office. The flexibility offered by the team when I initially approached them, was exactly what I needed, working 2 mornings a week as a generalist adviser, following extensive face to face training in the office.
Since that time, as well as being a generalist adviser, I have worked on the Help to Claim team, become a part-time supervisor, and more recently helped launch the Tonbridge Citizens Advice Outreach at St Stephen’s Church in late 2022, where we offer face to face advice to clients in south Tonbridge and beyond.
The impact of being part of the Citizens Advice team has been incalculable for me. It is so rewarding and a privilege to give something back and help others.
Having been unable to continue with my former career, left me with a complete loss of professional identity and that was a real issue for me. I was fortunate to receive some specialised employment counselling and armed with the knowledge that I still had capability, if not capacity, led me to Citizens Advice. 6 years later, I’m still here, now volunteering for 3 days, and the rest as they say is history.
Thank you Citizens Advice.
– Graeme, Advice Service Supervisor
