Rubbing Shoulders....

There are very few of us ‘Blacks’ who volunteer at Crisis Christmas so you can’t help but notice each other. However, he was more than just your average black guy. Despite dressing down, he couldn’t hide that refined look and an air of authority about him. As most Crisis volunteers work in pairs; I tried to wrangle my way into working with him, but my efforts were frustrated as others beat me to the punch. Throughout the day, I looked for opportunities to sidle up to him while we mucked out and went about our general volunteer duties. In the end I gave up and went into the common room to mingle with the guests

So it was to my extreme pleasure, that he joined my table. The guests were called away to do something, which left just the two of us. His name was Trev. He asked why I was volunteering. Because I had empathy with the homeless, having experienced it when I first came to London 10 years ago. What about you? “I’ve always wanted to come but have been really busy. I finally got the opportunity to do so this year”
On hindsight, I realise that he didn’t really say a lot about himself, apart from the fact that he travelled a lot for work, spoke French and played the saxophone – general stuff. I only understood why he was not so forthcoming when reading the newspaper a few weeks later I learnt who he really was...


Trevor Philips – Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality