Chief scout Dwayne Fields says group saved him after shooting

People should be allowed more flexibility at work so they can find time to volunteer for good causes, the UK’s chief scout has said.

Under the proposal workers would have the right to 35 hours of leave each year for volunteering, which could be taken as hours rather than days.

Dwayne Fields wants the government to support the measure and said it would benefit companies as much as anyone else.

“People who volunteer tend to be happier, people who are happier tend to work more productively,” he told the BBC. “So it’s good for the person, the community and the [employer].”

Dwayne, 41, became chief scout in September – the volunteering organisation’s public face.

He is one of the Today programme’s guest editors this year and used his episode to explain how volunteering can build confidence, self-worth and the ability to empower others.

He credits the values he learned in the Scouts with preventing him from seeking retribution against the person who pulled a gun on him later in life.

Dwayne was 21 when he marched onto a council estate in east London to retrieve his stolen moped – one that had been lovingly built from scratch by him and his younger brother.

Out of stupidity or anger – he said he couldn’t remember which – Dwayne approached the thieves and grabbed his motorcycle. That’s when one of them drew a pistol and fired.

“He was about three or four metres away when he pulled the trigger,” said Dwayne. “I was fortunate enough that the gun misfired twice.”

It was a turning point for Dwayne, who had also survived a stabbing a couple of years earlier, as he feared his younger brother’s life might be at risk too.

“Scouting saved me,” he said. “I would not have had the confidence to say no to all those voices that were telling me: ‘You should go and get that guy who pulled the gun on you.’”

Dwayne had joined Scouts shortly after moving to Britain from Jamaica aged six. He was introduced to his local group by a friend.

His childhood in the Caribbean meant he had plenty of outdoor riches to enjoy but there were hardships at home.

“I was a kid who had very little in the way of clothing,” he said. “I didn’t have toys, we didn’t have electricity, gas or running water in the house.

“In that sense there was a lot of poverty but… all I can think about was the freedom I had to roam.

“The freedom I had to explore the environment I was in with the safety net of having someone who loved me that I could always run back to – if I got bitten or stung or scratched or scraped by something.”

He wants scouts to enjoy the same feelings of freedom and adventure that he had as a boy and to develop the kindness and compassion that comes from volunteering.

The benefit of such values are obvious in Peterborough, a town Dwayne visited as part of his Today programme.

There he interviewed volunteers at the Hussain Soup Kitchen who were helping the homeless and those struggling to make ends meet.

Samosas, dhal, chicken and rice were being offered on the day Dwayne visited.

One recipient was living in a garage and said they were thankful he had somewhere to go when he doesn’t have any money for food. Others said it was their first hot meal in a week.

Dwayne asked a young woman why she was volunteering: “I saw my mum and my aunties and my uncles – they all help out… I wanted to help people as well.”

For him, people like her illustrate the importance of volunteering, whether it be through Scouts or other charitable organisations.

“They are the next generation. The fact they are taking part in making this world just that little bit better is, to me, a cause for a great deal of hope.”

Dwayne also visited Peterborough’s Light Project, which offers a range of help to homeless people – from hot showers and food, to counselling, medical support and advice on benefits paperwork.

There he met Peter and his two Pekingese chihuahuas, the only living things he now considers family.

Peter told him how, desperate, he’d tried to take his own. He was urged to get help, but told Dwayne: “It’s hard to ask for help. I couldn’t get my head around ringing the doorbell.”

Homelessness is something Dwayne knows all about. His mother told him, aged 20, to find his own place to live.

On one occasion, he slept overnight on a parked train in a depot when a driver found him in the early hours of the morning.

After the initial shock and making sure Dwayne was alright, the pair began to chat.

At one point the driver showed him a ring and told him: “For it to be beautiful it had to be burned and battered and bent into shape – maybe that’s what you’re going through.”

It turned out to be the last night Dwayne slept rough. He is now married and has four children. “Kindness is something that’s free,” he told us.

He says that attitude underpins the atmosphere at scouting groups.

He also rejected the idea that Scouts has “gone woke”. Some have criticised the organisation for offering an activity that can be used by groups to teach children about preferred pronouns. Scouts say their groups are welcome to all youngsters.

“Scouting reflects society,” said Dwayne. “If there’s a young person who says, ‘I don’t know if I am comfortable calling myself a boy or a girl’ – what does it matter?

“We’re there for the same reasons: to have fun, make friends, learn, develop skills and develop confidence.”

He added: “My oldest friend in the world is someone I met at Scouts when I was seven years old. He’s still one of my best friends to this day. That’s what I know about scouting.”