Daniel Payne Wins The Peter Shave Volunteer of the Year Award 2022

Daniel had a stroke in July 2018, aged 23. He lives with right-handed weakness and fatigue as a result. His stroke also had a significant impact on his mental health and in the aftermath he found himself living with panic attacks and anxiety. After seeking support that dramatically changed his life and helped him to heal, Daniel wanted to help others in the same situation. He became a volunteer befriender for fellow stroke survivors aged between 16 – 25 as part of a new service we launched in 2020. Since then Daniel has supported fifteen young stroke survivors with 1:1 support. Some participants benefit from a one-off call and others opt for support on an ongoing basis.

Daniel received several nominations. Here one of the survivors he has supported shared why she put him forward for the award:

“Daniel helped me significantly since I’ve suffered two strokes. He listens to me, even when I just need to rant - never with any judgement and reassures me that whatever I’m feeling is normal. Daniel really has helped me through one of the most difficult times in my life - I wouldn’t be where I am without his support. I’m so grateful!”

We also received this moving nomination from Daniel’s partner, Laura:

“Daniel has been a part of the Different Strokes community for several years now. After having his stroke in 2018, Daniel acknowledged his own challenges in his recovery and became passionate about championing both mental support and community input to aid recovery, two aspects which he felt were not very accessible to him during his early recovery. Since discovering Different Strokes, Daniel has become part of the befriending service and has continued to speak about the amazing work that the Different Strokes Community do to his friends, family and colleagues. As his partner, I am so proud of Daniel every day. He has worked and continues to work on helping himself and others in recovery. He is such a hardworking, determined and compassionate person. He makes all my days better, and has taught me so much also about how to understand and support young people who have been through experiences such as strokes. It is a journey that we have both gone through together, though the journeys as a partner and a survivor are different in many ways. He is kind, and thoughtful, and an all-round amazing person.”

We caught up with Daniel to find out more about him and his role:

Congratulations Daniel; it’s been lovely to read your nominations and how valued you are. What is your volunteer role, when did you start it and why?

“After my stroke my doctor mentioned Different Strokes and like a fool, I just didn’t follow it up. Eventually, my brother forced me to reach out and get in contact with DS. Once I had, I wished I had done it much earlier! Having people to speak to who really understood what I was going through really helped my recovery.

I wanted to be part of the befriender service as soon as I heard about it. When I had my stroke I had so many questions, but all the answers I found were from people older than myself who all had completely different perspectives due to where they were in their lives. I wished there had been someone I felt like I could really relate to. If I can be this person for someone else and be beneficial to someone’s recovery then we have achieved our aim.”

What does your voluntary role look like in practice?

“There are four of us who volunteer as part of the befriender scheme. We talk to younger stroke survivors on the phone arranged through Genise from Different Strokes HQ. I would say the most important aspect of our role is being compassionate, lending an ear, and letting people get things off their chest – even if it is just the everyday life stuff! I also think it’s so vital that we are all younger stroke survivors ourselves and know what the people we support are going through. After a stroke, you can talk to your family and friends and they will be compassionate, but they can’t fully understand exactly what you’ve been through and that can be quite isolating. Knowing that someone understands can really help makes things less lonely. It is my role to be a friend to someone when they need it.

I think it is really important as the befriender to be open yourself about your own experiences, particularly on those first few calls. We have to be honest and share our own personal stories and feelings in the hope that it will encourage the person on the end of the line to share with us in return. It’s a huge step to seek help and I don’t take the responsibility lightly. I might be the first person that someone has ever opened up to about their stroke and they are putting their trust in me.

We don’t offer medical advice because we are not qualified, but we can suggest or signpost people to other services that may help them. I seem to do a lot of signposting to PALS for when people have experienced issues with their care in hospital or aftercare.

Since early 2021, we have also been doing an Instagram takeover on Tuesday evenings between 7-8 pm where we offer 1:1 support through direct message. We hope this more casual way for people to reach out for help and will encourage them to take that step.”

What do you like about volunteering?

“Honestly, it helps my recovery to speak to other people too – it really does! I really like making a difference for other people and it’s amazing to get positive feedback – it’s a good feeling.

It’s also been great to meet some cool people; the volunteers and staff and a whole community of people who I would never have crossed paths with before my stroke.”

How do you feel about receiving the Peter Shave Volunteer of the Year award?

“I was surprised when I got the call! I feel humbled to get recognition, not just of me, but as the group of befriender volunteers who have worked together to get this initiative going. I am taking this award as recognition for all of us. It’s a good service and it’s helping a lot of people.

I also want to thank Genise from Different Strokes HQ who co-ordinates it all and Dr. Giles Yeates who provides us as volunteers with regular support.”