This Volunteers’ Week we want to spotlight all our incredible volunteers who keep our vital services for trans young people and their families up and running. Today, we’re sharing Jaimie (she/her)’s volunteering story.

A while ago, a friend sent me a social media post from Mermaids looking for volunteers to run Community Groups. I’m trans myself and I thought it would be really rewarding to do something to help the local trans community where I live.

I’m a neurodivergent person who is quite introverted, so those first couple of groups I attended were a little bit difficult. I was very anxious about the prospect of sharing a space with and talking with strangers. But I’m glad I stuck it out because over the last year, as a team of volunteers, we’ve really built a tight-knit community of regular attendees.

We’ve got around five families that will show up regularly. Everyone’s gotten a lot more comfortable as time’s gone on. Having volunteered at the group for a year now, I’m far more confident in my ability to talk to people and be a listening ear.

The group is once a month on a Sunday morning, and we get there half an hour before it starts to set up. We set up two or three tables, one for sort of quiet chat, one for board games, and one for crafts. So, when people start arriving, they can pick whatever table they want. They can tuck into biscuits. We’ll make them coffees if they want them. We’ve got little sticky labels for names and pronouns too.

Usually, parents and some of the 16–18-year-olds will sit together and chat. Board games go down well with the younger ones. They’re more than happy to just sit and play with each other. A volunteer helps run the game as well.

Last month, we had a new young person show up who was about 17. Another regular attendee of a similar age usually just chats with the adults, but they spent the whole time talking to this new person instead. It’s amazing that they were able to meet another young trans person of their age and forge a new friendship so quickly.

The older teens will just talk about whatever they’re interested in at the time. There’s a lot of talk about music and their hobbies like skateboarding, RC cars, and art.

I think a lot of the parents who attend our Community Group don’t have anyone that they can talk to about their child’s identity and all that entails. They come along to talk to another adult who understands. Facilitating that non-judgmental space for parents and their children is wonderful.

It’s great for parents and young people to meet other people who are just like them, so they can understand that they are not alone. I hope that’s really making a difference for them.

Being able to facilitate that is really rewarding and wonderful. I can’t understate how much I get out of volunteering at the Community Group.

I’ve come to really appreciate the group and how it’s helped with my self-discipline. It gives me that drive to get up on a Sunday morning and do something for other people.

It really feels like you’re making a difference to people who need the help the most. Trans young people are growing up in this world that is quite scary right now. So being there to open that door for them to meet other people, to have a bit of fun and a momentary reprieve from the stresses of everyday life is so valuable.

You can find out more about our Community Groups and how to join on our Community Groups webpage.

We couldn’t keep our Support Line, Community Groups and youth advocacy programs running without mer-mazing volunteers like Jaimie. To all of our incredible volunteers: Thank you.