I can relate to the struggle in finding the right volunteer position, it took me ages to find the right one when I wanted to volunteer (similar to you, big gap in employment record no work references). It can take a while, hang on in there.

It also took me a while to get an entry level job too, and I was applying for everything, good references (through volunteering), it's just competitive out there. I do think a certain amount of it is down to luck, like mud on the wall something will stick eventually.