Welcome to Safe Steps, Amelia Building Confidence, Skills, and Opportunity Through Volunteering in Newport, Wales

At Newport Support Network CIC, we believe opportunity often begins with a single step — usually taken long before someone feels “ready”.

This week, we were proud to welcome Amelia, our newest participant in Safe Steps: Volunteer Training for Opportunity. Her first day captured exactly what this programme is about.

Taking the first step
From the moment she arrived at The Open Table & Pantry, Amelia threw herself straight into the work.

No hesitation.
No holding back.

Just courage, curiosity, and a genuine desire to help her community.

That first step is never easy — especially for people who have faced barriers to work, confidence, or opportunity. But it is powerful.

Safe Steps exists for people like Amelia: people who want to grow, contribute, and rebuild confidence through real experience, not classrooms or theory.

 
What Safe Steps offers
Safe Steps is a volunteer training programme designed to support people in Newport, Wales (UK) who want to move forward at their own pace.

No experience needed
We meet people where they are — not where they think they “should” be.

Confidence built through doing
Real tasks. Real responsibility. Real encouragement.

Guidance every step of the way
No one walks this journey alone. Support is built in.

Safe Steps supports individuals who may be facing:

Low confidence
Long-term unemployment
Caring responsibilities
Health or wellbeing challenges
Difficult life experiences
The focus is always on dignity, trust, and progress — not pressure.

A community that believes in people
We are proud to welcome Amelia into the programme — and even prouder of the bravery she showed on day one.

Journeys rarely begin perfectly.
They begin bravely.

Safe Steps is made possible through community-led partnership, including:

Newport Multibank
The Open Table & Pantry
Local organisations across Newport working together to remove barriers and open doors
When communities invest in people, confidence grows.

Thinking about taking your own Safe Step?
Safe Steps may be right for you if you’re looking for:

A fresh start
A confidence boost
Supportive volunteering experience
A chance to give back to your community
A pathway back into employment
Your journey doesn’t need to be polished.
It just needs to start.

— Newport Support Network CIC