Helping others reward enough

By Bridget Brady
Mr Nicol, 73, is a volunteer qualified support interviewer at the Cranbourne Information and Support Service (CISS).
He interviews people who come into the CISS seeking help in some way.
“It might be someone who is homeless, or someone who wants to know where the nearest sporting club is,’’ he said.
“My main role as an interviewer is to talk to people who are in need for one reason or another. We don’t try and tell people what they should do. We try to give them advice and point them in the right direction.’’
Mr Nicol gives out food vouchers, helps people who may not be able to pay their bills, and offers referral where necessary.
“I’m in my 70s and I think it’s probably the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said.
Mr Nicol, who has lived in Cranbourne for 25 years, said he started volunteering at the CISS by chance.
“I used to come in every now and then to see a friend who worked here and we joked that I would end up volunteering here. Eventually I got talking to Leanne (Petrides) and then next thing I knew I was doing a course and volunteering here,” he said.
Each person who asks the CISS for help speaks to an interviewer before the service decides how to offer assistance.
Mr Nicol said he remained a non-judgemental and confidential volunteer in the midst of people’s varying circumstances and backgrounds.
“Until you work here and talk to people, you don’t realise how many people are in need and why they are in need,” he said.
He said there were some people who didn’t do much to help themselves, but he had to remember that he never knew the circumstances that led them to ask for help in the first place.
Mr Nicol said he was a casual interviewer and spoke to each person differently, depending on their circumstances.
“I’ve lived through a few recessions,’’ he said. “I know what it’s like to be in and out of work. Homeless people are not young idiots. They can even be people my age.”
Watching people improve their situations far outweighed the tough days at CISS, he said.
“You get the odd person who finds themselves on their feet and they come in and say, you gave me $20 a year ago and I’m so grateful. That’s when you go home and say you had a good day, today wasn’t wasted,’’ he said.
“I’ve never thought of any of us as heroes, but you do think your life is worthwhile when you work here. We are a family.”
Mr Nicol has been involved in many community groups such as the Masonic Lodge, Cranbourne Probus Club and Cranbourne Bowls Club.
“I’ve been pretty lucky in my life. I’ve never gone without a feed. But you can’t do nothing, you’ve got to be involved,’’ he said.
“You can see some people who are victims of domestic violence. It is easy for us to say just walk away. But where do they walk? There is no other way for some people who find themselves in a hole. They are very hard to get out of.”