A TWENTY-year-old Cwmbran man who has been homeless twice and was in trouble with police as a teenager says volunteering has changed his life.

Darren Wood now urges others who need a second chance to get lend a hand, after he gained enough qualifications through Communities First at the Pill Millennium Centre to bag himself a job.

Mr Wood, who grew up in Bradford, came to Gwent permanently three years ago but family issues left him in a young person’s hostel.

He said: “They [the hostel] encouraged you to get out and about so I started doing things in the hostel first and then I started volunteering at Pill Mill.

“It changed the way I’m thinking, they way I’m doing things. I used to get into trouble with the police. Everyone deserves a chance, it doesn’t matter what your background is, it can change your life.

“I was doing anything that needed doing, on reception, setting up rooms for people to use, setting up up for kids clubs.

“I was normally there every day of the week, I was doing a few hours at first and I just went all the time. I loved it.”

Mr Wood said he finished volunteering last year after securing a labourer job due to the qualifications he had gained through Communities First in food hygiene, health and safety, manual handling and first aid.

He has also volunteered for the Leonard Cheshire Disability Can Do project, Keep Wales Tidy and Newport Night Shelter earning him two volunteering awards last year.

He recently had a setback in his progress following a serious accident, which left him with a broken pelvis, broken ribs, two broken wrists and cheek bones.

Mr Wood said he only left hospital a month ago after accidentally falling from George Street Bridge in Newport on a night-out in March.

He said: “Just because you’ve been knocked down in life, doesn’t mean you can’t pick yourself up.

“It’s been a quick recovery, quicker than the doctors expected it to be. In another month or two I’ll be ok.”

Anyone inspired to get involved in volunteering can visit Communities First local co-ordinator Nathan Davies at Pill Mill.