1. Damian
Hellstrom
I
first
met
Damian
in
the
summer
of
2012
when
I
was
setting
up
the
Cornerstone
community
coffee
bar
project
in
Carlisle
(www.cornerstonecarlisle.org).
He
introduced
himself
while
we
were
still
fitting
out
the
premises
and
offered
to
join
the
volunteer
team
running
the
project.
After
an
interview
process
and
taking
up
references
we
took
him
on
and
it
was
one
of
the
best
decisions
we
made.
Damian
stayed
with
the
project
for
over
two
years
before
full-­‐time
paid
work
claimed
him.
He
fulfilled
many
roles,
including
acting
as
key
holder,
opening
and
closing
the
premises,
banking
cash,
making
and
serving
hot
drinks,
managing
stock
and
keeping
the
place
very
presentable.
He
did
all
this
with
quiet
skill
and
was
always
dependable.
He
worked
well
with
the
rest
of
the
volunteers
and
was
happy
to
take
responsibility
when
necessary.
Moreover,
Damian
displayed
a
great
ability
to
get
alongside
people,
which
was
essential
in
a
project
that
is
there
to
provide
social
support
as
well
as
a
good
brew.
He
was
able
to
remain
calm
and
reassuring
whatever
the
situation
and
was
able
to
help
people
through
major
and
minor
crises
in
their
lives.
Damian
was
also
part
of
the
team
who
ran
a
weekly
Work
Club,
offering
jobseekers
help
with
job
searches,
CVs,
applications
and
interview
preparation.
A
big
part
of
the
need
was
for
help
using
the
IT
for
the
mandatory
web-­‐based
job
search
process.
Damian
has
IT
skills
n
depth
and
kept
us
running
reliably
with
a
ramshackle
collection
of
old
computers
that
had
been
donated.
Yet
he
was
able
to
relate
to
the
needs
of
someone
who
was
new
to
IT
and
very
nervous
of
it,
explaining
things
in
everyday
terms
and
working
patiently
with
them
until
they
were
able
to
fend
for
themselves.
I
can
recommend
Damian
without
hesitation
for
any
role
involving
technical
and
people
skills,
and
where
trust
and
integrity
are
required.
He
brings
a
fresh
outlook
to
most
things
and
you
can
expect
him
to
question
things,
courteously,
if
he
thinks
there
might
be
a
way
to
do
things
better.
He
is
also
very
good
company
and
an
asset
to
any
team.
Keith
Morris
St
James
Carlisle
Shops
Board
(Cornerstone
and
Op
Shop)
25
March
2015