25 years of volunteering at Glass Door Homeless Charity

We wouldn’t be where we are today without our volunteers, so we’re spotlighting the incredible work they do and how they’ve supported us for the last 25 years. 

At Glass Door Homeless Charity, we’ve been relying on our volunteers since the charity’s conception. After all, even before we reached charity status in 2000, we started out as a group of church congregation members voluntarily providing information cards with details of local resources to people experiencing homelessness in the community. 

I enjoy providing a safe, welcoming space for guests and making friends with the other volunteers from different walks of life, having my eyes opened to other experiences. 

- Glass Door Volunteer 

When our first night shelter opened in Kensington & Chelsea in 1999, our volunteers became the backbone of Glass Door’s services. But today, we don’t only have night shelter volunteers. We have triage volunteers, translation volunteers, our Lived Experience Group (LEG), volunteers who help in our office, and our board of trustees. 

We spoke to Ken, our Volunteer & Involvement Manager, to gain more insight into the different types of volunteering we offer and what it’s like working with our passionate team of volunteers. 

“Why do I love working with volunteers? It's working with someone who is giving their time willing to do something that they don't have to do, to help make someone else's situation or experience better. It's the fact that they've decided to give to their community, also the diversity and the range of the people that volunteer is always wonderful experience getting to know them.” - Ken 

Night shelter volunteers 

Volunteers play an extremely important role in welcoming our shelter guests every night in winter, including talking to them, preparing and cooking nutritious home-cooked meals, and generally helping them feel safe. 

“A typical evening involves setting up the rooms, usually about 6:30, and making sure that everything's in place and that all the ingredients are present, making sure there's plenty of milk for the teas and coffees, and then laying tables, working with the team and then getting ready to welcome people when it's time for their arrive.” - Ian, Volunteer 

Each team of night shelter volunteers is led by a Volunteer Coordinator, who is trained and managed by the Glass Door Volunteering & Involvement Manager. 

A volunteer coordinator has to work with the volunteers to ensure that every week of the shelter there's enough food and enough helpers and that everyone arrives knowing what their role is and how to make sure that the shelter works brilliantly for the guests.

 - Jennie, Volunteer Coordinator 

Triage volunteers 

Volunteers also help our other key service, Casework. Our triage volunteers support Caseworkers at some of our partner day centres by assessing what guests need assistance with, signposting them to other services, and helping Caseworkers work out the best order for their appointments to make sure the most urgent situations are dealt with first. 

“Our triage volunteers play a very important role, year-round, with regards not only to the service they provide, but also the relationship that we have with our day centre partners. They act as a go-between for the caseworkers and guests, so that our guests are supported as much as possible before they engage with the Caseworkers.” - Ken 

 Lived Experience Group 

Another group of volunteers who are absolutely integral to our vision and values is the Lived Experience Group, known as LEG. Each member of the group has experienced homelessness themselves, and between them cover a wide variety of experiences, including sofa-surfing, sleeping rough, staying in temporary accommodation and in refuges.  

“The Lived Experience Group helps to create changes in Glass Door policies, our ways of thinking, and how we engage with current guests, to ensure that the decision we make and actions we take are guest-informed.” - Ken 

We meet to get their feedback on any changes to our services, as well as on other areas of our work such as the website, policy, fundraising and casework. Some things that we’ve coproduced with them together include our Theory of Change, the language in our text messages to night shelter guests, and the design of our mailbox service for guests.   

I was a night shelter guest back in 2019, and I’ve been in LEG from the very start. I got involved because Glass Door helped me and my partner so much, and we wanted to give something back. I’m glad to make a small contribution in whatever way we can.

- LEG member 

Hearing about the group’s experiences, and how their consequent insights are often things we may not have thought of, reinforces how important lived experience is in making sure what we are doing is useful and effective for the people we support. 

“I’ve been in the LEG group for about two years and am really passionate about people who have used or are using services. Experience needs to be at the heart of everything for services.” - LEG member 

Translation volunteers 

At Glass Door, we work with guests who speak many different languages. While we can’t translate every resource into every single different language, we do create translated versions of some of our most important resources. For example, we translate night shelter welcome packs and maps into our guests’ most commonly spoken languages. 

“Translation volunteers help us translate our various welcome packs and information that we produce for the guests into various languages so that we are able to support the wide range of guests in an inclusive manner. It's very important to us. We have a few regular volunteers, but it's something that we always are requesting more support for.” - Ken 

Office & delivery volunteers 

We also have volunteers who help us keep on top of everything in the office, particularly when it comes to sorting and organising donations, some of which will go to the night shelters, and some of which remain provisions for any guest who visits us for Casework support.  

“One of the things I've been doing is recruiting volunteers to help collect donations from various organisations within the area. In some cases, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with and find out more about them including the wonderful reasons why they choose to volunteer with Glass Door as we go to collect the donations.” - Ken 

These donations can be anything including clothes, food or toiletries, and our volunteers may also help with collection and delivery. 

Those have been some memorable moments, just having wonderful conversations with people who I would never come across in different circumstances, who sometimes are really going out of their way to help, and finding out why they have chosen to volunteer with Glass Door or just how finding out more about them as a person.

- Ken 

Trustees 

Each member of our Board of Trustees volunteers their time, expertise, and unwavering support to ensure our governance is sound, our vision is strong, and our values remain at the heart of everything we do. They offer strategic guidance, encouragement, and championing the work we do to support those facing homelessness. 

“Being part of the Board gives me a deeper understanding of how best to serve our guests' needs. And volunteering brings me closer to understanding what those needs are. Both are humbling experiences on every level.” - Asitha, Trustee and shelter volunteer 

Trustees give their time voluntarily and without remuneration. The trustee body brings considerable skill and experience in the areas vital to our services, including Night Shelter operations, Day Services, Finance, HR, Legal, Communications and Fundraising. 

Being a trustee for Glass Door is incredibly rewarding. Not only do I get to support the strategic direction of the charity, I get to spend time with the incredibly dedicated team, other volunteers and donors.

"These interactions highlight the life changing work that the Casework and night shelter teams deliver. Hearing stories from guests demonstrates that Glass Door is a lifeline in times of need when other services aren't there to help. I feel privileged to play a (very) small part.” - Kenna, Trustee 

What our volunteers have to say about Glass Door 

Last year’s volunteer survey showed that our volunteers enjoy doing something practical to help those in need and find it rewarding to see the direct impact of the night shelters. They also enjoy being part of a team of like-minded people and the sense of camaraderie and community spirit that it brings. They love connecting with guests, showing them warmth and respect, and having the chance to make someone’s day a bit better.  

It's absolutely amazing to be working alongside so many wonderful, caring and supportive people.

 - Shereen, Volunteer 

Many specifically mentioned that the opportunity to show guests respect and to learn about their experiences was humbling and motivating. Showing respect to all our guests is a key part of Glass Door’s ethos that we are proud of, which runs through our services, and which our volunteers embody.  

“I think it's the combination of the professionalism of the Glass Door staff and the commitment of the volunteers together that makes the guests feel at home and relaxed and safe. Given the problems they probably experience all day every day and at night, they can relax and be here.” - Jennie, Volunteer Coordinator 

What our guests have to say about our volunteers