VOLUNTEERING SAVED ME
THROWN out of college for drinking, homeless and with nowhere to turn, Anita Bhattacharjee started volunteering, aged 22, to “step back into the world”. Today Anita, 50, from Hull, is working as a library assistant and tutor, helping to encourage others whose lives may seem hopeless to take up volunteering.
What does your average day look like?
My days are usually very full with work, family, friends and hobbies and no two days are the same.
A typical day usually includes working on site and working from home, taxiing a teenager, time with my husband, jobs around the house, supporting recovering addicts, speaking with friends, learning Hindi, reading, gardening.
I love the diversity but sometimes it’s a challenge to get the right balance between work and family life, so whatever happens, we always aim to eat our evening meal together and catch up.
I’m also volunteering again, becoming a Calls with Care volunteer, where you make regular friendly phone calls to someone you’re matched with who is experiencing loneliness.
I ring a brilliant lady every week and we’ve really hit it off.
What do you love about your jobs?
I have two library assistant jobs, an adult learning tutor role, and I’m also a learning support assistant. The best thing about them all is the opportunities they give me to be involved in improving the quality of people’s lives.
What are the challenges?
Fitting it all in!
How did volunteering turn your life around?
It changed my life, showing me what I was capable of and providing my first step into the world of work.
After almost a year of volunteering, I felt ready to take another step forward and then applied for college, signing up to do A-level maths, physics and sociology.
I then went on to study social anthropology at university while working part-time in a cleaning job, graduating with a first-class degree and winning the department award.
After graduating, and at the age of 28, I secured my first full-time role as an admin assistant.
Since then, I’ve worked in a number of positions – all focusing on supporting others and making a difference to their lives.
These include 10 years as a learning mentor for people learning English, including asylum seekers and refugees.
I’ve also been the pastoral lead in a primary school, a student coach for mature students, and my masters degree in mindfulness has equipped me to teach this to people who experience various challenges.
Today I bring all my skills to my library and adult learning roles across a diverse crosssection of society.
What was life like before volunteering?
I left school at 16 and joined a Merchant Navy college, which I was thrown out of for drinking. By the time I was 19, I found myself in a cycle of homelessness and drinking. I felt like I’d become detached from society.
I finally stopped drinking at 22, after receiving help, and moved into a flat on my own.
All I could focus on was getting through the day without a drink.
I realised I needed to do something to occupy myself to keep me out of trouble.
How did you end up volunteering?
I felt completely unemployable and found it hard to even think about committing to work because I didn’t know how reliable I would be. However, I knew I needed to do something to step back into the world. I decided to try volunteering.
I’d heard of the Royal Voluntary Service before and got in touch. I wasn’t sure I even had any skills to bring to the party, but I had a great chat with the coordinator and was offered a role as a runner on the Meals on Wheels service.
At the time, it felt like too much responsibility to be put on a rota, so instead we agreed they would ring me as and when I was needed.
I ended up doing two shifts a week, every week, for almost a year. It was scary to start with, but I loved the customers, and the role helped me get talking to people.
What new skills did it give you?
It boosted my confidence and got me “out there” again. I also gained some experience of working to a timetable, committing to something and being responsible.
Without that I don’t think I would have been able to even think about going to college.
Contact
The RVS is holding The Big Help Out weekend from June 7. Check out royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk to find out more about this and opportunities near you.
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I did two shifts a week for a year, it was scary at first but it got me ‘out there’