Volunteer PROFILE: LISA

When Lisa started her volunteer training with LGBT Youth Scotland in January 2020, none of us knew just how much our services would have to change.

“My training took place shortly before lockdown, so I’ve not been able to put into practice much of what we learned, yet! During one of our training sessions, I volunteered to demonstrate some of the methods we use as volunteer Youth Workers. This was quite nerve-wracking in front of 10 other trainees! However, it seemed to go quite well, and I felt more confident after that.”

Lisa told us she became a volunteer so she can: “bring the benefit of my lived experience as someone who transitioned from male-to-female to an audience of younger people; I want to try and dispel some of the unhelpful myths that have been ingrained in popular culture around issues of gender identity”.

Our Volunteer and Capacity Building Manager , Daniel, recalls Lisa’s interview: “I remember how friendly and open Lisa was throughout the application and interview process. Her desire to share her lived experience to help others really struck a chord with me. I was very excited when she accepted our offer to become a volunteer”.

Due to the shift in our services from face-to-face to online, Lisa was only able to attend one youth group session before lockdown hit. Shortly after we moved to a virtual service, Lisa joined our groups, on our online community platform Pride and Pixels and helped to lead sessions virtually across a number of groups. When our groups returned in-person Lisa was one of the first volunteers to return.

Lisa’s interest in addressing inequality goes beyond LGBT issues and also includes tackling poverty. “Food banks should never be necessary in countries like ours and I [would like to] start identifying the causes of such poverty and solving those issues. Universal Basic Income feels like a very good idea that will hopefully become a part of our lives.”

Lisa had these words of advice for folks who are thinking about being a volunteer: “Be open and aware, there may be so much more going on than might first appear, especially with young people. Everyone is unique!”.

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