Four SSPSSR students recently finished working as volunteers with the Canterbury Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) and not only gained excellent workplace skills, but contributed to the important work of the organisation.
As well as being exposed to the inner workings of a local charity affiliated to a national organisation, the students worked on live projects which are an important part of the research and policy development of the charity. One project involved the use of food banks and will be used by the CAB to communicate and work with local charities, support networks and agencies.
Kristel, a Stage 2 Criminology and Sociology student told us: ‘My experience with the CAB was fantastic and also very complex. I’ve learnt so much about debt, housing and other social issues and the complexity of some cases. It really highlighted the major issue of homelessness and deprivation in Canterbury alone and this research hopefully should be able to make a change and get government critically addressing the issue of not only homelessness but also the dependency of too many individuals on food banks.’
This opportunity was provided by the School to selected undergraduate students as part of our ongoing relationship with external agencies and organisations to develop beneficial networks and experiences for our students.
Another volunteer, Emmanuella said of her experience: ‘Volunteering at Canterbury Citizens Advice Bureau was amazing. I was nervous at first, but the other volunteers and advisors helped and guided me. Surveying clients was nerve wracking in the beginning, but eventually got easier. It was fun and sad volunteering at CAB because you get to have conversations with the advisors getting to know them better, which was nice and they were very welcoming. The sad part was the stories of how people are struggling in Canterbury with different types of issues. You see homeless people around Canterbury you can see what their needs are: food, shelter etc; but there are so many more people in Canterbury who are going through many different types of issues that are not as noticeable. I am grateful for being able to volunteer for CAB it has helped me to have confidence in my abilities and see the world in a different light.’
For more information about the Citizens Advice Bureau, please visit https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/