"I’M ORIGINALLY from Rogerstone. I went to Cefn Wood School and from there I went to Bassaleg Comprehensive. 

“I always loved Rogerstone, many good memories, lots of good friends. 
“Still friendly with lots of people from there now. 
“I spent a lot of time around Newport where I made lots of friends, making more friends and on a Saturday afternoon I’d go for a chat and a coffee and go to the pictures or have a walk around. 

“It was such a big buzz and it was nice to be so close to all of my friends. 
“I kind of grew up in an environment where you knew your neighbours. 
“You could literally pop next door and go and ask for whatever you might need.
“Your mum would say ‘go and ask so and so for some bread or some sugar’. 

“You would pop there and they’d give it to you no problem and you would pay them back later. I was friends with their children as well and we grew up together. Some of us went to the same schools and some of us went to different schools but it was really good. 
“It was a really good time in my life. 

“It’s one that I think really encouraged me to do One Step (At A Time). 
“I’m up in Cwmbran now, been here for around ten years. 
“There’s some good people here and in Rogerstone. There’s still people in Rogerstone that I know, it’s nice to know those people are still there. It’s that community feeling. That’s what people need. 
“It’s not hard to help someone, you just have to be prepared to give a little bit of your time. 

“I guess it’s not so much the case anymore, you sort of isolate yourself and there’s all technology. People are more focused on that than spending a lot of time with their neighbours and friends. Because I grew up that way when the opportunity came to help someone it was myself, Nicola Willmott (his partner) and Marcie (Marcelle Greggains) who decided to help someone. 

“It was never meant to be as big as it got. 
“We are proud of it and proud of everyone who has played a part in it. 
“At one point it got out of control because it was that big.
“I work three days a week over at Nash College so the two days I’m not working I’m out volunteering for One Step and there’s not really a lot of time for anything else. 

“But it is really rewarding what we do. 
“I can’t even count the people we’ve helped. 
“Everyone has had an input and everyone who has volunteered has had an input in it going forward. 

“What we do now is a welcome pack with everything like pots, pans and cups for people so they have all the basics that they need. 
“Even scouring pads so they can wash their dishes. 

“I took a double bed to a lady the other day - she was over the moon. 
“The sense of satisfaction from that was incredible, she just couldn’t believe it, she didn’t expect that. 
“I think she expected a stained mattress or something like that. It gives you a great feeling to keep going when people are that appreciative. 

“We have the homeless food runs on a Monday and Tuesday which are done by Nicola, Donna Byron and Tracey Seal. Everyone puts so much effort into making it a positive thing and helpful for the homeless. 
“Donna will take sleeping bags out on her own time or rucksacks but there’s always a meal on a Tuesday. A homemade stodgy meal. Some people will have double if they need it. 

“We’re just trying to do something nice for the people of Newport, and people who are less fortunate than us really. 
“If someone was in trouble in our times we’d sort of come together as a community. I like to think we’re doing that now. 

“That’s what we want to see again, that community feeling. It is coming back you can see it, more and more people are getting involved in voluntary organisations which is brilliant. 

“We have got certain organisations that we have alongside us such as social services. We’ve had quite a few organisations, they are always grateful and we try to do more than what they expect. 

“We had one lady who rang us up, she was very upset as we were supposed to deliver a bed for her but we were running behind schedule. 
“She rang us in tears on the phone, desperate for a bed. 
“We took the bed up to her and she didn’t have a sofa, she didn’t have a TV, she didn’t have a bed for herself; the one we were bringing was for her kid. 

“We went straight up, loaded the van up with everything and as we came back through the door she was crying again. 
“We stayed and set everything up for her like her TV and things. It was a great feeling, you can’t buy that at all.

“We are at Faith Church now up in Rogerstone. 
“They offered us storage and office space and they support what we are doing and give us donations. The community is still supporting us. 

“Some of the stuff that we have is incredible. You wouldn’t believe some of the things that people give us. We’ve seen lots of stuff and we’ve thought how can we get rid of that? 

“We have to ask people if they want to get rid of it just to make sure in case they’ve made a mistake. 
“People are ringing up all the time and we get lots of offers and people asking for us to deliver them some furniture and items. 
“It’s well supported and something I enjoy being a part of. 
“We take pride in what we do. 
“It has been difficult at times but everything is.”