As we mentioned earlier in the week, Rob is coming to Exeter Foodbank in a short-term role as ‘Volunteer Signposter’. He meets clients and shares info on local services. And he drinks quite a lot of tea with people!
This is his second diary entry (All entries are anonymised. The aim is to help people understand some of what we see in the life of a local foodbank)
Rob the Volunteer Signposter’s Diary Day 2
I’m not working at the moment, so trying to balance hours at the Foodbank with the never-ending job hunt.
One reflection is that I’m meeting a lot of my peers in terms of age and academic qualification. Naturally, the middle-aged men coming in will connect and want to chat to another bloke with grey hair. I’m often the only person they’ve spoken to that day – the record so far is the only person for a month! Men of my generation don’t often talk or reach out when times are tough, but will open up a bit with some encouragement in the right environment.
It’s a gentle process with geography, cultural connection (typically sport or 80s TV) as a connector. I’ve managed some connection with everybody so far.
Kids often come in with their parents and it’s tough. The parenting challenges are relatable from transition into secondary to starting college and, again, it’s good to listen and guide.
Thinking of friends in the academic community, I’ve also met a couple of young Masters level graduates who, like me, couldn’t get over the line with a PhD. Super bright, well-balanced people going through the academic pipeline with nothing to fall back on when it doesn’t work. Not sure where that fits with the idea that high level qualifications give you an open door to a happy life!
It is good to be relatable and helps to empathize with people I see as peers through age or experience. It also makes you think about how close you are to facing similar challenges. It could be work, mental or physical health, family issues or relationship breakdown. There are many people out there who have done nothing “wrong” but caught some bad breaks in life.
The photo is my ‘office’.
And here’s where to go to donate: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/efbfoodraiser2026
