Homelessness volunteer roles

About Us

Frank Parkinson was a pioneering electrical engineer, notable for the early development of electric lighting and motors. He and his brother established a company in their hometown of Guiseley, West Yorkshire, which prospered and became Crompton Parkinson. When he died in 1946, Frank left a large part of his considerable fortune to establish the Trust, and we focus on the following:

• Providing inclusive, low-cost accommodation to older adults (and others by exception) registered as living in the wards of Leeds and Bradford who are experiencing socio-economic deprivation and/or adverse consequences of increased costs of living.
• Investing in the local community to help address the wider determinants of health and wellbeing.
• Providing educational opportunities for the local population in the fields of information technology and engineering through working with partner organisations (e.g. voluntary and community social enterprises, higher education institutions).

Under the wider objectives of the Trust, we also make grants to other registered charities within the Guiseley area, where their aims align with ours. For example, we have provided ongoing support to a local charity catering for the needs of older adults with living disabilities by funding the purchase of a minibus. This facility has enabled them to go shopping and access other local amenities.

Background to the roles

The Board of the Frank Parkinson Yorkshire Trust currently comprises five Trustees including the Chair. We recognise the need to enhance the Board and welcome new Trustees who will bring energy and a range of knowledge and skills to support our important work. We are seeking motivated people who live locally or in the surrounding areas and who share our commitment to honour Frank Parkinson’s legacy by providing housing for older people and supporting local charities. 

We’re looking for one or more trustees with a finance background as well as someone with a legal background, possibly in property law. Applications would also be welcome from people interested in our work who bring other skills and experience, for example, social housing, property, charity governance, or older people.

Main Responsibilities

Finance Trustees(s)

The role of the Finance Trustee(s) is to oversee, approve and present budgets, accounts, and financial statements as well as the preparation and presentation of financial reports to the board. In addition, ensure that appropriate accounting procedures and controls are in place and liaise with the Operations Manager about financial matters.

Legal Trustee (property)

This role will provide expert legal advice on property-related matters, including leases, compliance, and risk management. You will support the strategic oversight of our property portfolio, ensuring legal integrity, regulatory compliance, and alignment with charitable objectives.

General Trustees

These roles will support our work by bringing professional skills and experience from other areas such as social care, work with older people, buildings and property, and charity governance. You will support our work, ensuring we deliver on our strategy and are providing the best, most appropriate care to our residents. Trustees are valued ‘critical friends’ and your input will be invaluable.

Person Specification

Finance Trustee

• A recognised financial qualification
• The ability to take a strategic approach to financial planning and oversight and to help non-financial colleagues understand these
• Analytical ability and good independent judgement

Legal Trustee (property)

• Ensuring compliance with relevant legislation, including charity and company law
• Supporting governance processes related to property and estates
• Contributing to board-level discussions on risk, sustainability, and legal frameworks

General Trustees

• Analytical ability and good independent judgement
• The ability to think strategically and understand the importance of The Frank Parkinson Yorkshire Trust’s role
• The ability to work effectively as a team member and demonstrate a willingness to learn and develop

Diversity

Eastside People is fully committed to equality of opportunity and diversity and work with our clients to ensure that we recruit inclusively, seeking to address the under-representation of some groups of people on boards and in leadership teams. 

How to apply

Eastside People is supporting the Frank Parkinson Yorkshire Trust in the recruitment for this role. Please apply by sending your CV and cover letter both in Word doc. format. 

Please use the cover letter (max 2 pages) as an opportunity to add to the information you have shared in your CV and ensure that you cover the following:

• Why are you interested in becoming a Trustee, and why with the Frank Parkinson Yorkshire Trust
• How can you contribute to the Frank Parkinson Yorkshire Trust as a Trustee? Please highlight relevant experience and demonstrate how your skills match the specific requirements of the role as set out in the role description and person specification, if applicable.

We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability, and potential. Please contact us if you require any assistance or adjustment so that we can make the application process work for you.

The closing date for applications is Monday 30 June with shortlisting interviews taking place as applications are received. The interviews with the Frank Parkinson Yorkshire Trust will take place on Thursday 17 July.

Amy’s Place is a partnership between the Amy Winehouse Foundation and Clarion Housing, providing supported living accommodation for young women aged 18-30 in recovery from drugs, alcohol and other addictive behaviors.

An enthusiastic, reliable and compassionate volunteer with good interpersonal skills and a desire to help others. The volunteer needs to hold a professional level diploma in counselling and have training and experience working with individuals with eating disorders.

Activities

• To provide therapeutic support to young women (aged 18-30) with eating disorders
• One-to-One counselling sessions will aim to support the individual to improve self-confidence, identify and resolve negative thought processes, implement constructive coping strategies and empower them to fulfil attainable life goals
• To develop and promote a positive relationship with the women within allocated caseload
• To keep up-to-date with development in the field of counselling and eating disorder therapy
• To manage appropriate professional boundaries in the relationship
• To maintain records for monitoring, evaluation and tracking purposes plus service evaluation
• To take responsibility for own professional development

Requirements

• Hold a professional level diploma in counselling
• Hold professional membership with BACP, UKCP or equivalent
• Have own regular supervision with a qualified supervisor
• Fully trained in eating disorder therapy and previous experience supporting individuals with eating disorders
• This role requires us to carry out a check through the Disclosure and Barring Service for the Enhanced DBS

Commitment 

This is a flexible opportunity and volunteering times and frequency will vary depending on the volunteer’s availability and the needs of the residents. Ideally weekly one-to-one sessions for a minimum of 3 months.

Support 

•  Volunteers receive a thorough induction and have access to any relevant in-house and external training
•  Reasonable travel and lunch expenses will be reimbursed
• The role is based at the service in East London. The exact address cannot be given until the volunteer starts due to safety and privacy reasons.

Croydon Almshouses is seeking new trustees from all backgrounds who are passionate about giving their time to a dynamic Croydon charity that works to reduce the impact of poverty on people’s lives, so they can live with more dignity and independence.  We welcome applications from all, and are currently seeking trustees with experience and/ or professional qualifications in:

· Finance

· Communications

· Working with older people

· Property Surveyor (MRICS or FRICS)

About Croydon Almshouses: 

Croydon Almshouses is the oldest charity in Croydon, and we are proud of our heritage. For over 550 years we have been supporting people who experience the impact of poverty.  Since 1447 we have offered almshouses, and for the last 40 years have also awarded grants to Croydon’s voluntary sector and individuals. 

At the heart of who we are, is our belief and commitment to ‘community’.  Our Croydon Almshouses community is made up of our residents, staff, and trustees.  We are also part of our local Waddon community, and the wider Croydon community.  In some ways, most importantly, we recognise that we all belong to several communities which connect us with our backgrounds, our interests, our challenges. 

About the Role: 

You will be joining a committed and progressive Board of Trustees which is tasked with offering robust governance oversight to the charity, which is currently embarking on its ambitious 2024-2028 Strategy: “Do more, Do Better”. 

To learn more about Croydon Almshouses, the specifics of the role, and the time commitment, please click the attached role description pack. 

Timeline: 

Closing date for applications: Monday 7th July, 9am

Interview date: w/c 14th July, TBC early June

We want you to have every opportunity to demonstrate your skills, ability, and potential; please contact us if you require any assistance or adjustment so we can help make the application process work for you. 

Amy’s Place is a partnership between the Amy Winehouse Foundation and Clarion Housing, providing supported living accommodation for young women aged 18-30 in recovery from drugs, alcohol and other addictive behaviors.

With training in alternative therapies such as Reiki and Sound Healing, you will support young women to improve their physical and emotional well-being in a group setting or on an individual basis.

Activities

•  Delivering Sound Healing sessions in a 1-2-1 or group basis.
•  Providing a safe, relaxing, therapeutic environment for the activity to take place.

Experience and requirements:

•  Suitable candidates need to be qualified or nearing the end of a substantial training.
•  Volunteers may be asked to have professional liability insurance.
• This role will require us to carry out an enhanced check through the disclosure and barring service.

Commitment 

Commitment can be flexible to suit your availability, from about 1-2 hours per week. Ideally this volunteer will commit to a minimum of 3 months

Support 

•  Volunteers receive a thorough induction and have access to any relevant in-house and external training
•  Reasonable travel and lunch expenses will be reimbursed
• The role is based at the service in East London. The exact address cannot be given until the volunteer starts due to safety and privacy reasons

As a Trustee of Durham Action on Single Housing (DASH), you will work alongside other board members to provide strategic leadership and governance to the charity. Your primary role will be to ensure that DASH meets its charitable objectives and complies with legal and regulatory requirements. Trustees are responsible for overseeing the direction of the charity, ensuring financial sustainability, and ensuring effective delivery of services to individuals in need of housing support.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Leadership:
   • Work with fellow trustees to set the strategic direction of DASH.
   • Ensure that the charity’s mission is being fulfilled and that its activities align with its objectives.
   • Provide guidance and support in decision-making, ensuring that the charity stays relevant to the needs of its service users.
2. Governance & Oversight:
   • Ensure that the charity is properly governed, complies with legal and regulatory requirements, and adheres to its constitution and policies.
   • Oversee the performance of the Director and senior leadership team, offering guidance and support as needed.
   • Monitor the charity’s financial health, ensuring appropriate financial controls, budgeting, and reporting mechanisms are in place.
3. Financial Management:
   • Approve the annual budget and ensure effective use of resources.
   • Monitor and manage financial risks and help ensure the charity remains financially viable.
   • Support fundraising efforts and ensure the charity meets its financial targets and fundraising goals.
4. Advocacy & Representation:
   • Act as an ambassador for DASH, promoting its work and advocating for the needs of single housing tenants.
   • Develop and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including local authorities, other charities, funders, and the community.
   • Provide expertise in areas such as housing, legal, fundraising, or community services to assist in achieving the charity’s objectives.
5. Risk Management:
   • Identify and assess potential risks to the charity and help develop strategies to mitigate them.
   • Ensure the charity operates within a framework that balances risk and opportunity, ensuring the safety and well-being of service users.
6. Board Development:
   • Participate in board meetings and decision-making processes, providing insight, expertise, and constructive feedback.
   • Help recruit new trustees and contribute to the development of the board, ensuring its skills and diversity align with the charity’s needs.
7. Compliance & Reporting:
   • Ensure DASH meets all legal and regulatory obligations, including Charity Commission requirements.
   • Ensure that DASH’s work is transparent and that all reports (financial, impact, and governance) are accurate and timely.

Person Specification:

• Passion for housing issues and the work of DASH.
• Strong commitment to the values and mission of the charity.
• Previous experience in a governance or leadership role, preferably within the charity sector.
• Knowledge of housing, social justice, or related sectors is desirable but not essential.
• Strong communication, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively and constructively with other trustees, staff, and stakeholders.
• Experience in financial oversight and risk management would be an asset.

Time Commitment:

Trustees typically meet Bi monthly , with additional subcommittee meetings and ad-hoc responsibilities. Meetings may be in-person or virtual, depending on the needs of the organisation.

Benefits:

• The opportunity to make a significant difference to the lives of individuals in housing need.
• Gain valuable experience in governance, financial management, and leadership.
• Work with a dedicated and passionate group of individuals who share a common vision.

A Peer Mentor is a volunteer who has experienced similar challenges and experiences as the person they are supporting. Being a peer mentor is seen as a positive and secure way to progress towards education, work, or employment.

Volunteers who take on peer support roles can feel empowered, have a greater confidence and a more positive sense of identity.

Could you provide an authentic voice that our clients can relate to?

· Do you have 1-2 hours a week to support a client

· Can you inspire others, give them hope through self-disclosure and by being an example of recovery?

· Build relationships based on trust, acceptance, understanding and an empathy from a shared lived experience?

· Can we rely on you to tap into your own experiences to help us identify barriers and gaps in our services and how we can be improving and identify good practice?

If you can answer ‘yes’ to these questions, then we would love to hear from you!

Key Responsibilities:

· Inspiring service users by using your own life experiences and by being a positive role model

· Providing a safe sounding space, listen in a non-judgemental way

· Helping to improve wellbeing, confidence, and independence by exploring activities that promote this

· Assist service users to engage with formalised support

· Attend appropriate training and development opportunities as required

Amy’s Place is a partnership between the Amy Winehouse Foundation and Clarion Housing, providing supported living accommodation for young women aged 18-30 in recovery from drugs, alcohol and other addictive behaviors.

As a great communicator with ‘green fingers’ you will create a calm, nurturing environment in which to support the residents to gain gardening skills and to explore the possibility of growing their own food. 

Activities

Inspire the residents to take an interest in the outdoor space at Amy’s Place and involve them in the development of a regular gardening and/or food growing club.

Help residents to develop their gardening skills and knowledge specific to growing food, through group workshops and individually tailored support, guidance and encouragement.

Commitment 

This is a flexible opportunity and volunteering times and frequency will vary depending on the volunteer’s availability and the needs of the residents. It might be every week or fortnight ideally for a minimum of 3 months.

Requirements 

This role will require us to carry out an enhanced check through the disclosure and barring service.

Support 

•  Volunteers receive a thorough induction and have access to any relevant in-house and external training
•  Reasonable travel and lunch expenses will be reimbursed
• The role is based at the service in East London. The exact address cannot be given until the volunteer starts due to safety and privacy reasons

A Trustee at Durham Action on Single Housing (DASH) plays a crucial role in supporting the organisation's mission, ensuring its financial health, and guiding its strategic direction.

Role Title: Trustee

Location: Durham (meetings and occasional site visits)

Reports to: Board of Trustees

Role Overview:

As a Trustee of Durham Action on Single Housing (DASH), you will work alongside other board members to provide strategic leadership and governance to the charity. Your primary role will be to ensure that DASH meets its charitable objectives and complies with legal and regulatory requirements. Trustees are responsible for overseeing the direction of the charity, ensuring financial sustainability, and ensuring effective delivery of services to individuals in need of housing support.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Leadership:
   • Work with fellow trustees to set the strategic direction of DASH.
   • Ensure that the charity’s mission is being fulfilled and that its activities align with its objectives.
   • Provide guidance and support in decision-making, ensuring that the charity stays relevant to the needs of its service users.
2. Governance & Oversight:
   • Ensure that the charity is properly governed, complies with legal and regulatory requirements, and adheres to its constitution and policies.
   • Oversee the performance of the Director and senior leadership team, offering guidance and support as needed.
   • Monitor the charity’s financial health, ensuring appropriate financial controls, budgeting, and reporting mechanisms are in place.
3. Financial Management:
   • Approve the annual budget and ensure effective use of resources.
   • Monitor and manage financial risks and help ensure the charity remains financially viable.
   • Support fundraising efforts and ensure the charity meets its financial targets and fundraising goals.
4. Advocacy & Representation:
   • Act as an ambassador for DASH, promoting its work and advocating for the needs of single housing tenants.
   • Develop and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including local authorities, other charities, funders, and the community.
   • Provide expertise in areas such as housing, legal, fundraising, or community services to assist in achieving the charity’s objectives.
5. Risk Management:
   • Identify and assess potential risks to the charity and help develop strategies to mitigate them.
   • Ensure the charity operates within a framework that balances risk and opportunity, ensuring the safety and well-being of service users.
6. Board Development:
   • Participate in board meetings and decision-making processes, providing insight, expertise, and constructive feedback.
   • Help recruit new trustees and contribute to the development of the board, ensuring its skills and diversity align with the charity’s needs.
7. Compliance & Reporting:
   • Ensure DASH meets all legal and regulatory obligations, including Charity Commission requirements.
   • Ensure that DASH’s work is transparent and that all reports (financial, impact, and governance) are accurate and timely.

Person Specification:

• Passion for housing issues and the work of DASH.
• Strong commitment to the values and mission of the charity.
• Previous experience in a governance or leadership role, preferably within the charity sector.
• Knowledge of housing, social justice, or related sectors is desirable but not essential.
• Strong communication, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively and constructively with other trustees, staff, and stakeholders.
• Experience in financial oversight and risk management would be an asset.

Time Commitment:

Trustees typically meet Bi monthly , with additional subcommittee meetings and ad-hoc responsibilities. Meetings may be in-person or virtual, depending on the needs of the organisation.

Benefits:

• The opportunity to make a significant difference to the lives of individuals in housing need.
• Gain valuable experience in governance, financial management, and leadership.
• Work with a dedicated and passionate group of individuals who share a common vision.

Summary

The gardening and growing volunteer will support our accommodation sites in maintaining their outdoor spaces at our sites across Hertfordshire and Bucks including

Brindle Court, Watford
Northgate End, Bishop's Stortford
Our smaller sites in Stevenage, Hoddesdon and Hemel Hempstead 
Crest Rd, High Wycombe

Detailed description

Having access to a secure garden or outdoor area can be crucial for providing opportunities to socialise and relax, which can be invaluable for the mental well-being of our residents.

The gardening and growing volunteer will support our accommodation sites in maintaining their outdoor spaces, including:

·Weeding

·Sweeping

·Pruning

·Clearing leaves and large twigs

·Watering plants

·Planting bulbs and tidying up flower beds

We would love for this to be an opportunity to involve our residents and potentially lead a gardening activity with them, equipping them with knowledge and skills to maintain their own green spaces in the future. 

You will need:

• Enjoy working outside in all weathers.
• An interest/basic knowledge of gardening
• Role requires some degree of physical work and lifting/manual handling
• To work under your own initiative.
• Good communication skills
• Opportunity to meet new people and learn new skills

A full induction to the service and specific site will be provided as well as access to training and events throughout the year!

Some sites have basic tools however any additional tools and material required can be discussed with your volunteer manager .

What volunteers need:
You will be required to under go a Disclosure and Barring Service check and provide details of 2 x referees

What we will provide to volunteers:

• Reimbursement of costs
• Full training and induction
• Access to events and celebrations throughout the year