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03 Jun 2025
Volunteers' Week: Meet Tony
From the 2nd to the 6th of June, we're joining #VolunteersWeek2025 which means across our online platforms we're celebrating our volunteers and all they do helping us support refugees and people seeking safety in Devon - in all honesty, we couldn't do it without them!
We’ve interviewed a handful of our volunteers from across a range of projects at Refugee Support Devon. They’ve shared their background, what motivates them to volunteer and why others should too!
Meet Tony.
Tony has been a volunteer with Refugee Support Devon for over 7 years and supports refugees and people seeking safety through our drop in support service and immigration advice clinic.
Q: Tell us your story. Why do you volunteer and choose to give your time to Refugee Support Devon?
I retired as a solicitor in 2017 and wanted to use my legal expertise but not to do what I'd done in my 40 years in the law. Elizabeth, my partner, was a teacher at Refugee Support Devon and I offered to volunteer at their drop in and was accepted. Not long after that the Drop in Manager at the time asked if anyone was up for doing OISC Level 1 training and myself and a few others agreed. We all passed the exam and started to do Level 1 work. 2-3 years later, I did Level 2 training and qualified to take on more complex immigration cases.
Q: What’s your favourite part about volunteering with us?
I've always enjoyed the glimpse into other lives that casework brings, more so with our work, and making the system work as fairly as we can for a group of clients who are treated badly in our country and its arcane and hostile immigration system can be good although not always
Q: In your words, why is Refugee Support Devon’s work so important?
Because we offer practical help and a welcome to that group of people. I so admire the way our colleagues relate to our clients with warmth and shared humanity, bridging cultural differences to make friendly but professional bonds with clients who rarely receive that kindness in their dealings with the systems they have to interact with to get by.
Q: What’s your message to refugees and people seeking asylum in Devon?
We are here to help you and your family make a good life here in Devon.
