A GROUP which helps vulnerable adults and victims of domestic violence who are starting afresh has rewarded two of its volunteers.

The group, called 1 Step at a Time, was launched last year to help people in Newport and Torfaen who are “down on their luck” and being rehomed.

They call on members of the community for donations of furniture and appliances which can help people back on their feet.

Now over one year old, the group is working with more and more volunteers including Communities First, who clean and prepare all the electrical items which have been donated by members of the community. The items are donated to adults who have moved into somewhere new, because of reasons from domestic violence to mental illness.

Lee Williams, who runs the team, last week thanked all their volunteers, and gave a special award to Roland Mason and Barry Johnson. The awards, organised by 1 Step at a Time, recognises the volunteers' hard work.

Mr Williams said: “Without the support of Roland and continuous support of Barry, 1 Step would still only be an idea.

“Roland has been kind enough to provide us with donated storage where we keep donations to be organised and tested.

“Barry has always been willing to lend a hand with moving and storing furniture and various other items”.

He added: “We at 1 Step at a Time will endeavour to do the best we can to help people obtain some if not all of the essentials they need to live a normal life,

“We try to offer volunteer roles from people in the community such as Communities First, who have worked so hard and continue to do so to ensure the donations from people in our community are clean and reusable.

“They are determined to help make 1 Step a success and we thank them for all they’ve done.”

Anyone who would like to contact the group as a volunteer or to offer donations is asked to contact onestepatatimecharity@hotmail.com. Currently the most needed items include wardrobes, chests of drawers, cookers and washing machines.