Building Hope: How Farm Volunteering Helped Stephen on His Path Back to Work

Stephen works as a general labourer at Pro Able Group Ltd who kindly donated some building materials to the farm this week. Diolch. ❤️ It was a great surprise to find out that Stephen once volunteered at the Farm. We love hearing how the Farm has had a positive impact on people's lives so we chatted about Stephen's time here and how it helped him overcome a serious brain injury and get back into work.

“I had a brain injury in 2015. I was a builder with my brother and I fell from a mezzanine floor. I also crushed a vertebra in my back so I went to Star Project (an organisation who helps people with brain injury rehabilitation) and they brought me to the farm for a few days to volunteer. After those few days ended, I carried on because I enjoyed it so much. I volunteered for about a year and it was just so great getting back to the physical work. Because of my injury I can’t taste or smell so I was perfect for cleaning out the animals! It didn’t bother me but my wife didn’t like it when I got home (laughs).

I just loved doing a bit of everything such as building paths for wheelchairs. We even made kilns out of broken glass – just things that you’d throw out. It was unbelievable! It was so great to be able to give a lot more back to the community and it really helped me get back into work. I highly recommend people come here and volunteer if they can – it’s brilliant.”

If you would like information on volunteering please email info@swanseacommunityfarm.org.uk. You can also visit our donation page for more information on Monthly Giving. It's a fantastic way to support our volunteers on their journey to better health and wellbeing.