When 53-year-old Simon Golding first saw the job advert at Nightsafe, it felt like fate. With over a decade of experience in housing management and more than two decades in social care, he was looking for a new purpose.

“I wanted to work on something smaller where I could spend more time individually with young people,” he says. “I wanted to help them before their lives took a turn they couldn’t recover from.”

Nightsafe provides emergency shelter, day centre support and supported housing for vulnerable 16-25-year-olds facing homelessness in Blackburn with Darwen. It’s a charity built on compassion and resilience – values that Simon would come to experience firsthand.

Just a year into his role, Simon was diagnosed with prostate cancer followed by a life-threatening bout of sepsis. “Nightsafe kept checking in, never pressuring me, and told me to come back when I was ready. That really says everything about the charity.”

When Simon returned he had a new focus. As housing coordinator at the Cornfield Cliffe project, he now looks after the structure and behind-the-scenes support. This frees up the team to do what they do best – spend quality time with the young people and help them move forward.

Cornfield Cliffe is designed for young people who have aged out of the care system or come from fractured family situations. “Every story is different,” Simon says. “We’ve got one young person dealing with heavy drug use. Another just isn’t engaging. It’s not always easy, but we don’t give up – that’s the point.”

Simon speaks with pride about a young man who went on to study for a degree in Leeds, and another who once struggled with drug use, now thriving in a support role and living independently.

“One lad had been with us for three years,” Simon recollects. “We gave him additional support and encouragement, which it was the push he needed, as he’s now got his own place and a part-time job.”

That sense of purpose is what keeps Simon going. For him it’s not just a job, it’s a space where genuine impact is possible. “There’s a real openness here and we’re trusted to try new things,” he says. “If something works, we run with it.” The balance he’s found between meaningful work and personal life is, as he puts it, “exactly where I want to be.”

For those considering supporting Nightsafe, Simon offers a simple invitation. “You can see exactly where your support goes. Come to the projects. See the rooms, the meals, the impact. That kind of visibility matters.”

For Simon, it’s all about that chance to breathe. “Someone who’s been sleeping rough getting a hot meal and a safe bed – that’s the start. From there, who knows how far they’ll go?”

Do you fancy being a volunteer like Simon?

Why not find out how you can Get Involved, and make a real difference to a young persons life.