✨ COMMUNITY IMPACT: CLIVE'S STORY

Clive volunteers at our Community Fridge – he calls out queue

numbers to help staff be heard over the noise of the room. He is a kind, no-nonsense

man who wants to help others avoid the difficulties he’s faced:

“if I can use my bad experiences to inform someone else, it makes my relationship with that bad experience better”.

Clive first found the fridge after his sister signed him up – he didn’t feel he could ask

for help. He worked as a building surveyor and supported his kids through private

school when a divorce, housing difficulties and health problem suddenly made him

homeless. He struggled to afford food as he waited for Government support.

Clive says volunteering at the community fridge improved things more than he

expected. His physical symptoms eased, his depression started to lift, and things

started looking up –

“It's a place of happiness. The stress levels are gone.”

He made friends too. He helped Pete, another volunteer, to get help with living costs

by sharing his experiences. Now, Pete cooks dinner for Clive twice a week to make

sure he’s eating properly – “he's a good cook actually”. They meet for coffee almost

every day, ‘talk rubbish’ and look out for each other. Clive still shouts out queue

numbers and helps new people find their feet.