Achievement is measured by what we actually do; money confuses importance with value.

Democracy enables the majority to decide how minorities are dealt with. Society is a word encouraging people to believe we are all in this together, which we really are, living on this one planet in the corner known as East Devon.

Too many minority problems are having too little attention, with the "Nanny State" not working. The long list includes special needs education, care for the elderly, support for mental health, guidance for young people transitioning from teenager to adult, help and care for the disabled. Most of these are shuffled from national government to local councils, where many are delegated to privately run homes and hostels - some of which are brilliant, others just make profits.

We all learn from experience. In my early life, I observed someone very rich and concluded that moderate wealth could be earned from ability and hard work, but beyond that riches came from collecting other people's money, lots and lots of it!

With a science degree, my working life was in high-tech management. Being encouraged to volunteer for the Open Door Centre in 2010, I was nervous that my background would not connect well with the needy. But people are people, and respond to how they are treated. A warning was put around for a person who could be very aggressive. One morning a large, bronzed and smelly rough sleeper came in to Open Door, and I suggested he take advantage of the shower. After some protests he agreed, and later thanked me for persuading him. After he had gone, I learnt he was the aggressive fellow I had been nervous about!

The Open Door Centre provided an address for people with "no fixed abode",

hether sofa surfers, meaning sleeping at friends' homes or actually living rough. One man lived in a van, giving him mobility to find work around the west country. Another had a military pension but chose to live outside society, studying books on religion and philosophy. With all of them, conversations could sometimes be deep and were always very interesting.

The Food Bank, then the "Exmouth Community Larder", was my main volunteer job until 2020, with an even broader mix of people. The first lesson was that needy people come from all walks of life, including a previously affluent fellow who gave his wife and children the house and slept in a tent until his money ran out! A few were not truly needy, but referring agencies could identify them. More worrying were the many people in desperate need not coming to the Food Bank for one reason or another.

TV news uses well-dressed and articulate clients to make better programmes, but this creates a totally deceptive example of the truly needy in Food Banks! The genuine needy all kept as low a profile as they could, and were certainly not available to reporters let alone cameras!

Society, "we the people", must surely look after those that need support or can't help themselves. It falls to us to step in locally because the present structure of Social Care is in chaos, fragmented between different departments.. Professional training and skills are needed for some functions, but many jobs just require a willing and caring volunteer, including lobbying and raising funds for those tasks where qualified staff really are necessary.