Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GIVE AND LET LIVE
Not only can volunteering help people live longer, it can heal their anxieties and make them see what really matters in life. These generations of one family who volunteered together during lockdown have been given new hope and helped their youngest navigate a tricky eating disorder.
Phoebe Normington-west, her mum Sylvia French and Phoebe’s eight-year-old daughter Ysabel and son Ellis, 13, pack and deliver food parcels at St George’s Church in Everton, Liverpool. Phoebe explains: “My daughter has an eating disorder. She had a choking experience and has been on soup and custard for 18 months.
“It’s been a nightmare trying to get her support, but volunteering has helped her see how important food is. She’s been helping pack parcels and sometimes she’ll nibble on a bit of chocolate or some cereal, or try different types of tea. It’s opened up her diet.”
The family has taken parcels to shielders and other people who need them every week as part of St George’s Your Local Pantry, which has been delivering to more than 80 households.
St George’s is part of the Church Urban Fund’s Together Liverpool project, helping communities work together to tackle social inequality – and in particular areas of Everton which are ranked in the top 1% of deprived areas nationally.
Before the pandemic, Phoebe was a carer for her uncle but was unable to work as she suffered from anxiety. She says volunteering has also been life-changing for her.
She explains: “It’s dangerous to be bored at home. Helping people has helped me reevaluate everything. We knock on people’s doors to talk to them, and sometimes we’re the only people they talk to all week. It’s given me a reason to go out, and I’ll keep on volunteering even after Covid-19.”