Tom's Story

By Natalie Smith (St James Community Builder)

I first met Tom outside our local Community Centre. He mentioned that he was seeking connection in the community and looking for things to do to fill his time: “I just want to meet people”.

Tom took a copy of the St James What's On Guide, as he doesn’t go online. Tom soon began attending some of the community groups that run each week.

As a Community Builder, I would often be holding pop-ups or attending local groups, and it was always lovely to see Tom there, chatting away to others and getting involved.

He threw himself into helping out with litter picks and weeding parties and often dropped by our local community café and garden. It’s been wonderful to watch Tom form the connections he had been looking for and become such an active part of the St James community.

At our recent organisation’s celebration, Tom passed on a thank you card and a small gift, with a smile on his face that I hadn’t noticed before. He told me he had started teaching voluntarily and was hoping some paid employment would come next.

It felt good to know I have supported someone, it was a proud moment to see how far he’d come from that initial meeting at the bench.