Introducing...Amy

On a sunny and rather warm Thursday back in April, I was interviewed for the post of Communications Facilitator at A Way Out. Thankfully, and rather obviously given I am writing this, they offered me the job.

Starting anything new brings with it a tangle of nerves, but I’ll be honest that perhaps I came to this with just a hint of smug self-confidence. I believed I could do the job. I know words and can string them together, and I knew quite a bit about A Way Out through some previous interactions with the organisation.

But on my second day something happened.
 

Having had my HR introduction and sorted out all things technical (I have an email address, surely I was ready to roll?), I trotted along to my first staff breakfast to meet the team and hear a run-down of the recent goings on.

Within a few minutes it was clear I had overlooked an important factor: I may have known the practicalities, been aware of the programme and read through the procedures – but I had missed the heart.

One of our women’s team shared honestly about finding out a young woman had tragically lost her life, and how she had wept tears of grief over the loss of this precious individual. But then she explained that later the same day she had cried again, although this time with tears of joy at hearing about positive steps another young woman had taken towards a healthy and whole future.

Tears of sorrow, tears of joy. Both extremes of emotion in just a few hours. This is the reality.

It is all very well knowing what I need to know and being equipped with the skills I need to have, but I realised that in order to honestly communicate anything at all I also needed to feel it.

A Way Out is about people, not numbers or statistics, but rather lives that truly matter. Faces that are downcast, tummies that are hungry, hearts that are broken. Our goal is to reach them, help them, feed them and love them.

We always need your help and are so grateful for your support, whether it is a donation of food or toiletries, a financial gift or the offer of your time as a volunteer. 

www.awayout.co.uk