Citizens Advice North Lancashire is here to help everyone.

Interview with Mike Pidd

This week we have an interview with our volunteer Mike Pidd. Mike is a long standing volunteer of ours who has recently started providing advice over the phone, due to Covid-19.

If you would be interested in learning more about volunteering we would love to hear from you! Please email us at volunteering@northlancashirecab.org.uk

Hi Mike! What made you want to volunteer at Citizens Advice?:

"I’d almost retired from the University and thought it would be good to do something that might help other people; if you like, to give something back, as part of my Christian faith. I've been volunteering since 2013."

What are the biggest challenges and joys of volunteering with the service?

"The joys are clear – offering real help to someone who needs it and doesn’t know what to do. Also, the friendliness and helpfulness of staff and other volunteers. The challenge, which I actually enjoy, is quickly understanding someone’s problem and working out what to do and how best to advise them."

How has it been working through the pandemic?

"I didn’t volunteer at all from the first lockdown until the end of 2020. I’m now back phoning clients who have requested us to do so, which I was nervous about before I started, as I really prefer being able to sit down with someone. I also respond to email enquiries, which was one of my tasks before COVID. I miss the personal contact with clients and also with staff and other volunteers but I’m grateful for the phone support I receive from supervisors when I’m not quite sure how to respond to a client."

Why would you recommend Citizens Advice to a potential volunteer?

"I recommend it because the training is good, as is the supervision and support of other volunteers, so there’s no need to imagine that I have to be the fount of all wisdom. When I started, I was made very welcome and no one expected perfection – which was good, because I can’t provide it!"

Thanks to Mike for all the work he does supporting our clients.