Jennifer has been volunteering with Support Through Court since 2009 after seeing an advert that our founder, Diana Copisarow, put in her school magazine. Jennifer shares what she has learned from supporting our clients over the past 17 years and why our work matters more than ever in cases of families experiencing breakdown.
I got to hear about Support Through Court via a slightly unusual route. The charity’s founder, Diana Copisarow, had attended the same school as me and Diana had put an advert in the school magazine about the volunteering opportunity. On the few occasions I subsequently met Diana, I could see immediately that she had a dynamic personality and empathy with people.
I had never ever done any voluntary work in my life but was familiar with court procedures. I soon realised the enormity of the problems facing our clients, and I could see first-hand how daunting it was for them to be involved in litigation without professional help.
The scale of family breakdown at the Central Family Court became an eye opener for me. I have seen cases when a parent has left overnight, taking the children permanently abroad without permission. I can remember one particular case where the 5-week-old baby of a young mother had been taken away by the father. We managed to obtain an emergency court order so that the police could step in to help the mother to be reunited with her baby.
The need for help offered by our volunteers is greater than ever. We continue to see so many cases of genuine hardship. Domestic abuse is now a common theme across a lot of cases – both allegation and counter allegation. Having a sympathetic ear and an ability to sort out the main facts and features are crucial to these cases. The sight I dread most is the Sainsbury’s carrier bag stuffed full with papers.
“To see the gratitude in a client’s face is so rewarding and I am grateful that I chanced upon that advert in the school magazine to volunteer with this impressive charity. “
Last year, 50% of support sessions were family cases and 33% of those cases involved children.
Our support for litigants in person is needed now more than ever. We are hugely grateful to volunteers like Jennifer who dedicate their time to listen to and guide our clients through their court proceedings. If you would like to help people facing court alone, find out more about volunteering with us.
