Volunteers

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Senior Volunteer 

Paul has worked for the NorthWest Ambulance Service for the last 24 years. During this time he has undertaken a variety of roles. He has shown great empathy and a very good listening ear in supporting colleagues and the general public. 

Paul has personal experience with mental health. Following a traumatic family event in 2009, and a number of upsetting life challenges, he suffered a breakdown in 2010. After seeking help via counselling and other support, Paul has been able to regain control of his life. These life experiences have helped to strengthen Paul’s resolve, giving him the tools and information which he is keen to share with others. His sensitive and caring nature has already helped many others to share their own experiences with him and he has been able to assist them in getting the right h

Partially qualified counsellor (CPCAB Level II)   

Before joining JourneyMEN, Adam had recently graduated with my MA in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice from the Queen’s University, Belfast. He wrote his dissertation thesis on the impact of heightened levels of trauma throughout the troubles in Northern Ireland and on the mental health services there. 

Before this he taught English as a foreign language in rural South India and with refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. Mental health has always been close to Adam’s heart for personal reasons, which is why he is “extremely proud” to be one of its volunteers. Adam is now a partially qualified counsellor (CPCAB Level II) and is working towards completing this qualification. 

As a person with a disability Adam is also very passionate about equal opportunities and equal accessibility in practice, not just on paper. 

When he’s not volunteering with JourneyMEN, Adam enjoys learning languages, medieval history, and loves to travel. He’s also a big science fiction buff.     

  Professional Fisherman and Chairman and founder of the Wirral Sea Angling Academy 

  Ben is the chairman and founder of Wirral Sea Angling Academy, a therapeutic based not for profit constituted organization that promotes well-being and recovery through the median of Sea fishing. He started this to beat his own heroin addiction. 

After beating cancer, he developed an opiate addiction which led to heroin use, homelessness and his daughter going to live with his mum. In his own words it cost him everything. 

He has now been completely clean for over two years and now specialises in teaching fishing to amputees and the chronically disabled. Having said that, anyone and everyone is welcome. 

His daughter is now six and goes fishing with her dad a couple of times a week. In Ben’s own words: “I was the world’s most hopeless, degenerate junky, if I can sort myself out and become a productive member of society, anyone can”.

JourneyMEN’s fishing club events are facilitated by Ben and his team.   

 Diagnostic Radiographer 

Toby grew up in Ellesmere Port, where he lived for a few years before moving to the Wirral. He’s had a wide variety of jobs from retail, call center and office work; before making the decision to take a complete shift from anything he had done previously to train as a Diagnostic Radiographer. 

When he’s not working as his everyday profession at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, he’s volunteering at JourneyMEN in his spare team. 

Having had some personal experience with mental health difficulties, Toby knows how incredibly challenging it can be juggling life's everyday challenges and looking after yourself at the same time.

He first decided to join JourneyMEN after his parents encouraged him to do so after hearing about JourneyMEN’s operations manager Liam, who told his story about overcoming his own mental health struggles on Radio Merseyside. 

After visiting the JourneyMEN website, he felt an “overwhelming feeling” to get involved. Since getting involved, he has never looked back.