Pods into the sunset
Story collected from Sarah Bowers
Collected by Emmanuel Boakye
Edited by Robert Swallow
I moved to Oxford in September 2020 to do my master’s, when the pandemic was still coming into its second wave, I guess. I think I first saw the OxUnboxed shop on Little Clarendon Street and thought that looked interesting and then I looked online and yeah! Oxford Hub was a chance to get involved with the Oxford community at a time when I might not otherwise have been able to in more traditional ways. Joining the Phone Links programme was a really exciting way to get involved with the community in a way that was still feasible during the pandemic.
When I joined, I became a Pod Leader. As Pod Leader, I coordinated other volunteers offering friendship to those who were struggling with the impacts of the pandemic, like myself. I was feeling lonely, in lockdown, a student in a dorm, unable to go out and do things, new to the country and I did not have people I already knew. There were nine other volunteers from a broad range of backgrounds in my Pod making calls with between one to three people in the community. The people I was working with were not necessarily from my peer group, if you will, so Oxford Hub gave me the opportunity to get to meet people I wouldn’t otherwise have met.
Working with Oxford Hub helped me make connections with people outside of my normal group, as a new student to Oxford, without a connection to the community or knowledge of avenues to volunteer. Oxford Hub spring boarded me into the community. I knew from past experience, where I was living before, that volunteering is a really important part of my life and an important thing I enjoy doing. I still continue now, back in Vancouver, doing my PhD. I enjoy finding time to talk to people and I knew it was something I wanted to do. When I got to Oxford it was just a matter of finding a good way to do it.
The Phone Links programme was able to signpost people that were calling to resources that Oxford Hub could provide. It helped people feel empowered to reach out and take action for themselves. Safeguarding, obviously, was still important and something we thought about actively. However, the Phone Links programme promotes relationships that aren’t institutionalised or rule-based, as seen through the fact that people starting at the beginning of the pandemic still make calls to their contacts today. Although that seems like a really long-term time commitment, that’s really testament to the strength of the friendships created.
I was doing my master’s at the time. That was a fairly intensive program, so I had to be conscious of managing my time. But reading the call reports, although I got a lot every day, was something I really looked forward to. I liked reading the stories that people had. Sometimes it was a challenge to coordinate if people didn’t pick up the phone or sought support we couldn’t necessarily provide, but I always felt supported at Oxford Hub because we had people like Miriam or Emma always behind us.
It was very much a team-based operation, we all relied on each other, definitely. Everyone was relying on everyone else to be good, strong, open communicators. Some of the members in my Pod would have a hard time because there would be pauses or gaps in the conversations, and - I know I do this myself - jump to fill the gap. While coordinating, I had calls with volunteers in my own Pod every lunch. We also had check-ins between different Pod Leaders led by Miriam. We would discuss things that other Pod Leaders had found challenging, like how to find the right conversation starter or worries that had recently been raised on calls. One example is that someone mentioned that completing a crossword over the phone had been really helpful.
Some pairings have naturally ended as we have moved out of the pandemic and people can spend more time with friends and family. Some support is no longer needed but, although Phone Links is not taking new referrals, some pairs still call. Miriam said it best, “the pods are going off into the sunset”. “Pods into the sunset”…I really like that phrasing. The need for continued, sustained support from Pod leaders like myself diminished naturally, but there are still people checking in once a month to see how others are doing. I think this definitely shows that this programme made very strong bonds between people. The volunteers reach out of a genuine desire to know if the contact has continued support. They really care.
I am still a coordinator for the programme, now either from Canada or Oxford which I move between. To be truthful, one of the best things about the Phone Links programme is that I am able to be involved from a distance because it’s over the phone. I was still continuing to coordinate with my Pod, then Jade at Oxford Hub reached out about the Keeping Connected programme, a kind of peer-to-peer, in-person version of Phone Links. I was really excited to be able to get involved because at the time, I was really missing Oxford and really missing the friends and people that I met there. It shows how flexible volunteering is and it shows Oxford Hub’s willingness to facilitate volunteering and support people being involved as volunteers. It’s fantastic!
Both Phone Links and the Keeping Connected programme are moving away from crisis response into peer-to-peer support. Phone Links will be smaller in capacity as Keeping Connected grows up. From my point of view, the calls have been a great success so far! Sometimes I make a call to check in on people and they’re out together. I was calling one person to check in on how the relationship was going and they were out having coffee with the person they were supposed to be connected with! If I think about the transition made in the type of interaction from those volunteer programmes, what we’ve seen really is a strength in the relationships being formed, with people helping people go shopping or go for coffee in real life. The idea of Keeping Connected is that those relationships, interactions in everyday life, could potentially happen from day one.
COVID-19 highlighted that the demand for support was huge. It also highlighted that the need for remote social support has always been there, and it will continue to be there. As things return to normal, there will still be people in our community that feel isolation or loneliness and support will continue to be there for those people. With the strength of the volunteer base that we have seen and the willingness to support, I think that programmes will continue to evolve and be important.
As long as I can continue to support in the way that I am, even if it’s just contributions at a distance, I’m happy to do so. I really enjoy working with Oxford Hub and the people I have met. What’s more, my experience with Oxford Hub has certainly strengthened my conviction towards volunteering. I don’t exactly know where I will be long-term, but I will continue to seek out opportunities to volunteer in my local community wherever I end up being. Seeing the hard work of those in my Pod supporting people definitely strengthened my view of volunteering. I really appreciated seeing their hard work. It was so inspiring.
The more groups and organisations that are doing things like Oxford Hub, the better, but with that we need to be able to work together and coordinate our response. That’s one of the really neat things about Oxford Hub. It has got something for everyone, and new organisations have to work as part of its ecosystem. Oxford Hub is about fostering connections with community partners and making meaningful relationships between people in the community. This leads to this more integrated, equal society. That’s really the basis of the work that’s being done at Oxford Hub and is something I feel strongly about.