Alison volunteers to call sad and suicidal slavery survivors

46 year old Alison Winter volunteers as a telephone befriender for City Hearts in Liverpool. International charity City Hearts supports survivors of modern slavery and those seeking a crime free future, helping them to integrate back into society and live independently, in freedom.

Alison lives in Widnes with her husband Mark and their 2 children, 15 year old Lyra and 8 year old Luca. Her role as a volunteer involves calling survivors of modern slavery, checking in on their wellbeing, acting as a listening ear and signposting to other support organisations they would benefit from.

Alison explains:- "For years, I have been passionately angry about modern day slavery and trafficking of any kind. It's a subject I care deeply about, and I always felt like I wanted to help in some way if I could."

Fuelled by her passion to support survivors of trafficking, she began searching for ways to help:- "I found City Hearts online and when I saw that they had a branch in Liverpool, I immediately applied to be a volunteer."

Alison has lived in Widnes all her life, but travelled a lot around the country as a youngster because her dad was an International Rugby League referee. "My Dad refereed in the UK and France predominantly. He refereed the challenge cup final in 1985 which I think is the best challenge cup final ever. I sometimes see it being repeated on the BBC and call my Dad to say your match is on TV again! I was around 10 years old when he refereed at Wembley. It was great going to lots of interesting places, lots of Yorkshire games and meeting interesting people. He retired in 1986 at only 50, because you have to retire when you're still quite young. He went on to be an assessor and mark other referees on their games."

Alison began volunteering over a year ago, before the Covid Pandemic. She told us that:- "The 1st few times I volunteered, I was learning a lot:- there was valuable training, reading forms and policies. Once I started calling the clients, I remember saying to my husband how much I enjoyed it and felt I was doing something worthwhile. One survivor in particular always sticks in my mind. She had suffered domestic slavery, torture and abuse. She was such a lovely lady, I really took to her. She had gone through so much and was now isolating due to Covid. I hear how much the people City Hearts supports have been through, but they've come out the other side and are such lovely people. I speak to clients from many nationalities and sometimes we need to use a translator. I really feel like I'm helping. Even after my 1st session, I felt I had made a difference."

Outside of her volunteering work, Alison enjoys travelling and exploring new places with her family. Alison added:- "My wonderful Mum June passed away from cancer in 2013. I'll never forget those final few weeks as she was going rapidly downhill, she sat in her chair saying, 'I never got to see Scotland, or the Edinburgh Tattoo.' It really registered with me, to be honest. After she passed away, I said to my husband:- 'I don't want to sit there when I'm older thinking I didn't get to do the things or see the places I dreamed of.' So we wrote a long list of all the places we wanted to see, including the Northern Lights and New Zealand. I don't think I'll see them all, but as long as I gave it a good go, then I'll have no regrets. Last year we had an amazing holiday booked to Athens to see the Acropolis; luckily we still managed to actually go as it was in August when travel opened for a short time, and we'll do more when we can fly again."

Alison also works for the National Trust, as an Assistant Business Services Coordinator, explained:- "Back in 2016 I got a job with the National Trust in Liverpool, predominantly based at NT Speke Hall which is a beautiful building and a lovely house to work in, with very hard-working colleagues. I wasn't really academically gifted throughout my school life and never pushed myself very hard throughout High School. I just coasted along waiting to leave, if I'm honest . As the years went by, I educated myself through books and adult learning classes such as the Open University; where I studied a course leading to a degree in History over 3 years. I now get a great sense of enjoyment from reading about everything. I am very proud of the work I do for the National Trust and my volunteering role at City Hearts. I just love calling the clients and I feel that what I am doing is really helping, hopefully making a difference to the person I am calling as well as helping the staff out too. I would encourage anyone who is thinking of volunteering to definitely contact the places you are interested in and see if you can help out in some way. If you have the spare time and it is something you are passionate about, then just go for it. It's very rewarding and I'm sure you will get a lot out of it- I know I have."

To find out more about volunteering, visit:- CityHearts.Global/Volunteer.
 

Take part in Together We Walk, in celebration, in love, in reflection, to help people with cancer

MAGGIE'S Merseyside is encouraging people to walk 5k (3.1 miles) on either the 12 or 13 June 2021, in celebration, reflection, or love to help people with cancer. Maggie's Centre Visitor, Rob Flett, will be walking a 5km route with his sons Jamie and Euan to remember his wife and Euan and Jamie's mum Moira. "Me and the boys will be taking part in Together We Walk in celebration of Moira's life and to thank Maggie's for all their support. We were so lucky the day after of Moira's diagnosis, a Nurse at the Oncology department advised us to go to Maggie's, it made the prospect of Moira's final months less scary."

Every Maggie's centre follows the ideas about cancer care originally laid out by Maggie Keswick Jencks. Maggie lived with advanced cancer for 2 years and was determined that she should not:- "lose the joy of living in the fear of dying."

In order to live more positively with cancer, Maggie believed people needed information, stress-reducing strategies, psychological support, and the opportunity to meet other people in similar circumstances in a relaxed and beautiful setting. All Maggie's s centres are individually designed by leading architects to feel like a home and all have a big kitchen table at their heart.

Over the course of the last year the charity has been supporting thousands of people who have been impacted negatively by Coronavirus as Maggie's Merseyside Centre Head, Kathy Wright, explains.

"Maggie's teams across the country have been there for people with cancer and their families during the most difficult of times. We've created 'Together We Walk' as a way of bringing people together to celebrate and reflect. The therapeutic nature of walking and feeling part of a community cannot be measured. And if people felt like raising some funds to help us continue to be there for people with cancer we'd be most grateful. Maggie's Merseyside relies entirely on voluntary donations to allow us to keep on developing our unique programme of free support for all those living with cancer in the area."

Put on your trainers and walk a 5k route that means something to you or like Rob, Euan and Jamie reminds you of a lost loved one on either 12 or 13 June 2021 and raise money for people with cancer. Register now for your free pack and to set up your fundraising page.

Share photos of your walk on social media using the hashtag #TogetherWeWalk

Built in the grounds of Clatterbridge Health Park, Maggie's Merseyside is a warm and welcoming place, with qualified professionals on hand to offer an evidence-based core programme of support that has been shown to improve physical and emotional wellbeing.

Maggie's Merseyside relies on voluntary donations to develop its unique, high quality programme of support. The charity's aim is to make the biggest difference possible to people living with cancer and their family and friends.

To find out more about Maggie's Merseyside and to see how the Centre supports people living with cancer across The North West please visit the Centre, at Clatterbridge Health Park, Clatterbridge Road, CH63 4JY or get in touch on:- 0151 334 4301 or:- Liverpool@MaggiesCentres.Org.