“The Extra Time hubs have given me my husband back. That’s all I could ask for”
Roy Huckfield found his purpose in life through work. However, as Roy returned to Shropshire to retire after 16 years of working abroad, it became a difficult period for him to deal with especially having lost connection with many of his old friends. Having represented Team Great Britain at the Olympic Games, Roy was accustomed from an early age to dedicating his time to learning and nurturing skills in order to reaching his goals. Consequently after retiring, Roy lacked a purpose that had seen him excel previously and he became lost without a sense of belonging.
Unfortunately, Roy found these difficulties all too real and lost sight of himself. However, with the support of his family and through his strength of character, Roy was slowly able to contemplate a recovery after receiving a flyer advertising Shrewsbury Town’s Extra Time Hub. The hubs are an initiative to help combat social isolation and aid a happier, healthier retirement and Catherine Huckfield, Roy’s wife believes the hubs have been ‘the making’ of her husband.
Roy attended the group and was welcomed with open arms. As the weeks passed, Roy’s confidence grew, and his personality began to shine through and reflect on other participants. When a new technology club was created, Roy past role in IT was once again valuable and he was now confident enough to take a lead role, passing on his tech knowledge and know-how through demonstrations and lessons. Within a small number of weeks, Roy was known as ‘The Head of Tech Club’ and grew into the role. The sense of purpose Roy lost was now back with a vengeance.
Roy explained: “It makes me feel absolutely wonderful to be able to help somebody… it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me because it got me out and meeting people and doing things and feeling confident again to try and do things again it brought me back to life.”
The Extra Time Hub has had such an impact on Roy’s demeanor, especially his increased confidence, Roy has been able to further aid his community through his IT expertise as he works for Shropshire Council providing 1 to 1 support.
Catherine concludes,
“The Extra Time hubs have given me my husband back. That’s all I could ask for”
