Support At Home Volunteer Volunteer Roles

You will be supporting older people through weekly visits to their home. The role involves providing short term (6-8 weeks only) practical support (no personal care) to vulnerable adults.

· Support can include low level support such as having a cup of tea and a chat, light shopping, light snacks.  

· Support with companionship and support to rebuild confidence to regain or develop independence.   

Some clients may require additional support for tasks such as digital inclusion which volunteers (if they want to be) can be trained to provide.

Islington SASS (Solace Advocacy and Support Service) offers vital on-going support to survivors, helping them to rebuild their lives through advice, advocacy & support. We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to join our team.

Our teams offer support to those affected by domestic and sexual violence in their community. Our teams supply information, advocacy and specialist services to increase service users’ safety and meet a range of needs – these can include ongoing safety concerns, emotional or housing support, reporting to the police, legal options and support through court, help around child contact, benefits and financial advice. As well as providing direct assistance, we also work to build capacity and develop expertise amongst professionals and agencies.

About the role

Islington SASS is a busy service, which receives many referrals every day. You will be supporting our duty team to process referrals and key admin work. If you are interested, you can also be trained to contact clients, making initial welcome or check in calls. You will be in the office in Camden one day a week on a Tuesday or Friday to support with this.

Who are we looking for?

No qualifications are needed for this role. We are looking for passionate volunteers who have:

• Excellent written and communication skills.
• Excellent computer literacy
• Good time management
• A non-judgmental and open approach.

What can you gain from this opportunity?

• Volunteers will receive excellent training from a dedicated team, and gain experience using a case management system, safeguarding, talking to survivors and processing referrals.
• You will be part of an inclusive and dynamic team and have opportunities to shadow different roles to develop knowledge and skills.
• This is a great role if you are interested in joining the sector or working with survivors of domestic abuse.

We offer great volunteer induction training, where you will be fully supported to understand, and carry put every aspect of the role. Training includes CPD accredited courses, and the opportunity to apply to complete the level 3 Understanding Domestic Abuse Award (DAPA), which is recognized by the Home Office.

Interviews will take place week of 27th May 2024

SLDAS OCN Accredited Volunteer Training Programme

SLDAS is a local organisation working in South Liverpool. We support women who have experienced or are experiencing domestic abuse. We are a small team and are busier than ever and we need volunteers to help us reach all the women who we support. Have you got some time to give us?

All volunteers complete our Open College Network training programme that is accredited with Open Awards. Our aim is to provide trainee volunteers with the skills, knowledge and confidence necessary to enable them to work with women who are currently experiencing domestic abuse or have experienced it in the past.

 Volunteering alongside the course tutor, support workers and other volunteers, we 
would like you to help engage and encourage students in their studies. You will be 
based in the classroom but may also have the chance to go on some study visits with 
the students. If supporting students in live online courses, you will join the tutor and 
students on your home computer using the Zoom video-conference app.

Main tasks
1. Helping students understand, appreciate and enjoy the topic
2. Supporting and encouraging students in the classroom, either 1:1 or in a small group
3. Helping students to record their learning and develop their study skills
4. Assisting with the set-up and running of activities
5. Complying with the WEA volunteer code of conduct

Why we need your help

• To enable us to provide a rehabilitation and enablement service to patients in their own homes.

• To promote independence and support to help someone to achieve their goal

• Increase patients’ self-confidence and ability to self-manage their difficulties or symptoms.

What activities will you be involved in as part of this volunteer role?

You will be providing rehabilitation for patients in their own home. This may include;

· Helping with exercises that may make things easier for them at home (for example standing from a chair)

· Supporting people to manage their breathlessness

· Helping a patient to put some techniques into practice that may help with day to day activities.

· Helping someone to mobilise

Other activities include;

· Attending a joint visit with the therapist to be introduced to the patient and the exercises they will be doing.

· Dealing sensitively and politely with patients that you visit at home.

· Respect that you are in someone’s home and acting appropriately.

· Arranging further visits as agreed with the patient and the therapist within agreed hours.

· Promoting rehabilitation in all of your interactions with both patients and their families.

· Contacting the Living Well at Home team prior to and directly after a visit to ensure your safety at all times.

· Complete the visit report and submit it to the Living Well at Home team on the same day as the visit.

You will not be involved in the following;

· Toileting or personal care.

What you can gain from volunteering in this role

• Know you are helping dying people in your local community have access to care and support, whenever and wherever they need it.

• Experience of rehabilitation and really helping to make a difference to someone’s quality of life

• Opportunity to meet and work with interesting and diverse people

• Join an enthusiastic team, meet new people and get more involved in your local community

• Use and develop your skills, enhancing your CV if that is important to you

• Know you are helping dying people in your local community have access to care and support, whenever and wherever they need it.

Training and support provided

• An Introduction to Supporting People at End of Life training, date to be confirmed.

• Staff and volunteer induction training (covering all mandatory training)

• Living Well at Home Project training. Up to 1 day, at the Sydenham site or by zoom, depending on your availability. (Training is flexible at present and we will try and fit in with your availability)

• Ongoing informal training specific to the patient that you are visiting

• Monthly supervision sessions with the Living Well at Home team.

• Contact with the Living Well at Home team for support or questions regarding the patient/family at any time during working hours.

• Reasonable travel expenses will be paid

• Support from the Volunteering team including a regular e-newsletter

• Volunteer handbook and volunteer workbook

• Regular updates and training through MyImpact

We are looking for someone who is

· Approachable and friendly and able to get on well with people of many different backgrounds

· Caring and committed to help improve the quality of life for our patients

· Able to work in a professional manner with patients who have a terminal illness

· Capable of completing entries in patient files and updating other written documents as instructed

· Enthusiastic about learning and keen to develop new skills

· Reliable and can be flexible in the offer of time

• Able to follow our policies and procedures to keep you, our staff, our patients and our customers safe

• Able to represent St Christopher’s and our values positively.

Anything else you need to know

• There is a short settling in period to see if the role is right for you

• This role will require pre-volunteering checks, which will include a DBS Check. Having a criminal conviction will not necessarily prevent you from volunteering with us. Every situation is assessed on an individual basis.

• At St Christopher’s we believe that no volunteer should be out of pocket because of their volunteering. The reimbursement of reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred whilst volunteering will help ensure volunteering is accessible.

Commitment to volunteering

Signing up to be a volunteer with St Christopher’s Hospice is a big commitment and requires lots of training and support from the organisation. With this in mind, ideally you would be able to volunteer with us for a minimum of a year. We would also ask that you to inform your manager if you are unable to attend your shift with as much notice as possible.

Equality and diversity

St Christopher’s recognises the qualities and strengths that a diverse group of volunteers bring to the organisation and we therefore particularly welcome applications from underrepresented groups within the local communities and from a range of different cultures and backgrounds.

Are you a parent, grandparent or have experience of caring for children?

Do you have 2-3 hours per week to spare? Use your experience to support a family facing challenging times.

Our Home-Visiting Service supports families who are experiencing difficulties or suffering stress and who have at least one child under the age of five years.

Our aims are:

To increase the confidence and independence of the family by:

Offering support, friendship and practical assistance

Visiting families in their own homes and in their community, where the dignity and identity of each adult and child can be respected and protected

Reassuring parents that difficulties in bringing up children is not unusual and encouraging them to enjoy family life.

Developing a relationship with the family in which time can be shared and understanding can be developed. This approach is flexible to take account of different needs.

Encouraging parents’ strengths and emotional wellbeing – for the ultimate benefit of their children.

Encouraging families to widen their network of relationships, and to effectively use the support and services available within the community.

We are looking for active individuals that will engage with parents/carers at our Little Love baby bank in Southend, Your role will support this wonderiful iniaitive available to all families that have a child aged under 4 or who are expecting a baby and reaches the most vulnerable. Duties may require setting up and packing away and sorting of donations, depending on how many hours you can offer on a Thursday, supporting the YourFamily programme which is funded by A Better Start Southend. 

City Family CIC will seek an Enhanced DBS check at no cost to the volunteer and will reimburse all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses such as public transport fares and car mileage. We ask that you reside no further than 10 miles from Southend. Full induction and training will be provided as well as ongoing support and development.

Your Family is a community-based programme combining peer volunteers and paid staff who provide support, connection and advice to early years families - connecting and enabling them to access local activities, support and clinical services.

At Koala NW, our volunteer support is at the heart of what we do and we know how much our families appreciate the support our volunteers offer.

As a Koala North West volunteer, you will be given the training and support to make a real difference to families in your community. You will also develop transferable skills which can support you in your life, whether that’s at home or at work. You will make friends along the way and join other volunteers for peer support sessions and join in celebrations like National Volunteers week & Christmas events.

Once you have completed your 6 session training programme, you will be matched to a suitable family to offer emotional and practical support. You will be supported by a coordinator and given support and supervision regularly.

Every family we support is unique so the support that we offer is equally unique to that family and depends entirely on the circumstances and what they would like support with. We help parents identify what they are already doing well, and support them to build on this to improve their relationships with their children.

You will be visiting families in their own homes once a week for an hour or two, if you have availability to support more than one family just let us know and you can be matched to additional families. Or you may be offering virtual support. During the pandemic, we had to adjust our home visiting to virtual support, via zoom, telephone /What’s App video calls/ texts. It proved very successful as this was a regular contact for families during lockdown.

Due to the success of virtual support, if families prefer this type of support as an alternative to home visits, that’s okay.

Support in one or more of the following areas could be offered:

• Social isolation/loneliness, support families to get outdoors, walking with them to the park or accompanying to appointments etc
• Poor emotional and/or mental health wellbeing
• Managing children’s behaviours/sleep issues
• School readiness
• Family bereavement
• Disability/complex needs or ill health
• New baby/multiple births
• Difficulty with home management/routine
• Budgeting

All home visits by volunteers are carried out between 9am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday. (Flexible around family and work commitments)

What does Koala NW expect from you?

• You have parenting experience
• You have a non-judgemental attitude
• You are flexible and can commit to 2 hours minimum each week for a period of at least 12 months
• You are able to attend a 6 session training course. Training is held locally and runs 1 day a week for 6 consecutive weeks between 9.30am and 2.30pm
• You are willing to attend ongoing training to support you in your volunteering role.

We are proud that 43% of our current staff started as volunteers with Koala North West.

Since we started, we have supported in excess of 12,000 families and trained more than 1,500 volunteers.

Volunteering can change a family's life and 1-2 hours per week can make such a huge difference. Our volunteers are the difference.

We are looking for individuals with professional or lived experience of working with children. Our volunteer playworkers are passionate about play and providing a welcoming and safe space for all children.

About the Role

As a volunteer play worker, you will work in partnership with the Specialist Family Support Worker in the planning and delivery of play sessions. Most children will be between the ages of 2-5 years.

Play sessions will be child-centered and age-appropriate, and will include arts and crafts, sensory play and free play with toys/resources in the refuge. Working with the Specialist Family Support Worker, you will be able to respond to the individual needs of the children and adapt sessions as needed. You will record your observations on each child at the end of the session and reflect on how the sessions went with Specialist Family Support Worker.

You will be supported by the Specialist Family Support Worker in monthly supervisions. This is a space to discuss your volunteering role, what is going well for you and areas of support you need.

We are looking for volunteers to support one session per week, either:

• Wednesday 10am – 1pm (Islington)
• Friday 12pm – 3pm (Enfield)  

You will be expected to participate in setting up and in the evaluation of the session. You may also be asked your availability to attend additional sessions and trips to be held over school half terms.

Who are we looking for?

We are looking volunteers who have:

• Professional and/or lived experience of working with children
• Understanding of the impact of domestic abuse on children and young people
• A strengths-focused approach to working with challenging behaviour
• Knowledge of Safeguarding Children and Child Protection Procedures, or who are willing to learn
• Commitment to attend Safeguarding, Health and Safety, and Equality and Diversity training with Solace Women’s Aid
• Ability to communicate effectively with children aged 0-5, parents and staff
• Basic knowledge of child development
• Organisation and time management skills

Although not essential, we would welcome applications from volunteers who have a formal qualification in working with children, young people and families, or who have knowledge of trauma-informed approaches to working with children and young people.

What can you gain from this opportunity?

Volunteers will gain:

• Experience of facilitating play sessions for children in recovery from domestic abuse
• An insight into the experiences of children in recovery from domestic abuse.
• Experience in working in partnership with Specialist Family Support Workers in the planning, delivery and evaluation of play sessions in a refuge/community setting.
• Opportunity to attend training and social events with other Solace Women’s Aid volunteers.
• Trauma-Informed Practice training from the Specialist Family Support Worker team.
• Being part of a supportive team who aim to build on the strengths and skills of all our members.

We offer great volunteer induction training, where you will be fully supported to understand, and carry put every aspect of the role. Training includes CPD accredited courses, and the opportunity to apply to complete the level 3 Understanding Domestic Abuse Award (DAPA), which is recognized by the Home Office.

The role in a nutshell:

In this volunteer role, you will be based at home and helping older people via the telephone to access and connect with services locally or nationally. Through research and making telephone calls on the older person’s behalf, your input and support will help empower them to become more confident and less isolated.

What will you be doing?

The role of a Connect and Support Service Volunteer is incredibly varied and always person-centred. On one day you may be supporting an older person to feel less lonely, encouraging them to meet other people by finding out about social activities, making connections, and checking with them that all's gone well. The next you may be organising transport for someone with mobility problems to ensure they can benefit from their local day centre or lunch club. Someone else might benefit from your support in helping them to find a trusted gardener or handyperson so they can maintain their home. Or, you might make a call on someone’s behalf if they don’t feel confident to do so themselves. For others, you might highlight the support that their local Age UK, or similar organisation can offer may be all they need. No day is the same in this vital role!

How would you be supported in this role?

As part of the Connect and Support Service Team, you will receive full training and undertake an induction to ensure you feel confident in your new role as a Connect and Support Service Volunteer. We will provide access to regular check-in and support sessions with the team as well as a peer support network with other volunteers. Age UK will also reimburse you for agreed expenses you incur related to the role.

Why do we need volunteers in this role?

Volunteers enable the Connect and Support Service to reach a greater number of older people in need of support and to provide additional time and focus using their range of experience and skills.

Additional information:

Volunteering in this role must take place between Monday and Friday, 9am – 5pm.

What skills, interests or experience might be helpful in this role?

Older people are at the heart of everything we do at Age UK. While full training and ongoing support are provided to enable you to excel in this role, having a pre-existing understanding of some of the challenges people in later life may face, along with an awareness of the services and support that may be available to them will be particularly useful. In addition, effective verbal and written communication and IT literacy are important in this role.

Family Lives operate a free confidential helpline for anyone experiencing difficulties in their family or relationship.

Our volunteers take calls from parents and carers on a wide range of subjects, whether that might be issues around separation and divorce, isolation, depression, bullying and abuse, dealing with behavioural problems, etc. You can find out more about our services on our website.

We are a national service with home-based call takers county wide and we also have a call centre in Old Hatfield Hertfordshire. Once trained volunteers sign up for a weekly 4-hour shift comprising 3 hours ‘online’ followed by a debrief session with your supervisor which can lasts around half to one hour. 

We recruit volunteers with a range of backgrounds and experiences though we ask that volunteers have experience of parenting or working with children and young people, are good listeners and have a willingness to learn. Being remote it will be very important that you have a PC/laptop, plug in headset with microphone, good Wi-Fi and a private place to work from home. 

You need to be a UK resident.

Our training programme is excellent and will give you the opportunity to develop the skills needed to offer empathic support and guidance to callers whatever their circumstances; all shifts are overseen by a regular shift supervisor who provides ongoing remote support. We ask our volunteers to make a commitment of 1 year (with time off for holidays), obviously we understand that circumstances sometimes make that an impossibility but can be helpful to know at the outset that is the general expectation. 

We have call taker training sessions that run over five sessions and is done remotely connecting you via a Microsoft Teams link.

You would need to be able to attend all five sessions from one of these remote training groups and be available on four occasions to listen into calls, this can be organised remotely.

Remote Call Taker Training Dates:

June Saturday training dates:

Module 1 – Saturday 8th June

Module 2 - Saturday 15th June

Module 3 – Saturday 22nd June

Module 4 – Saturday 29th June

Module 5 – Saturday 6th July

10am to 2pm

OR

June training dates:

Module 1 – Monday 10th June

Module 2 – Wednesday 12th June

Module 3 – Monday 17th June

Module 4 – Wednesday 19th June

Module 5 – Monday 24th June

10am to 2pm

Please note that all roles offered are subject to a satisfactory DBS being obtained, you will receive details of documentation required prior to your training and this must all be in no later than the second session of your training.

At Koala NW, our volunteer support is at the heart of what we do and we know how much our families appreciate the support our volunteers offer.

As a Koala North West volunteer, you will be given the training and support to make a real difference to families in your community. You will also develop transferable skills which can support you in your life, whether that’s at home or at work. You will make friends along the way and join other volunteers for peer support sessions and join in celebrations like National Volunteers week & Christmas events.

Once you have completed your 6 session training programme, you will be matched to a suitable family to offer emotional and practical support. You will be supported by a coordinator and given support and supervision regularly.

Every family we support is unique so the support that we offer is equally unique to that family and depends entirely on the circumstances and what they would like support with. We help parents identify what they are already doing well, and support them to build on this to improve their relationships with their children.

You will be visiting families in their own homes once a week for an hour or two, if you have availability to support more than one family just let us know and you can be matched to additional families. Or you may be offering virtual support. During the pandemic, we had to adjust our home visiting to virtual support, via zoom, telephone /What’s App video calls/ texts. It proved very successful as this was a regular contact for families during lockdown.

Due to the success of virtual support, if families prefer this type of support as an alternative to home visits, that’s okay.

Support in one or more of the following areas could be offered:

• Social isolation/loneliness, support families to get outdoors, walking with them to the park or accompanying to appointments etc
• Poor emotional and/or mental health wellbeing
• Managing children’s behaviours/sleep issues
• School readiness
• Family bereavement
• Disability/complex needs or ill health
• New baby/multiple births
• Difficulty with home management/routine
• Budgeting

All home visits by volunteers are carried out between 9am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday. (Flexible around family and work commitments)

What does Koala NW expect from you?

• You have parenting experience
• You have a non-judgemental attitude
• You are flexible and are able to commit to 2 hours minimum each week for a period of at least 12 months
• You are able to attend a 6 session training course. Training is held in Chester and runs 1 day a week for 6 consecutive weeks between 9.30am and 2.30pm
• You are willing to attend ongoing training to support you in your volunteering role.

We are proud that 43% of our current staff started as volunteers with Koala North West.

Since we started, we have supported in excess of 12,000 families and trained more than 1,500 volunteers.

Volunteering can change a family's life and 1-2 hours per week can make such a huge difference. Our volunteers are the difference.

Full training will be provided and paid travel expenses.

Job Type: Volunteer

Work Location: In person

We are based in Camden, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth and Westminster.

At Doorstep Library, we’re dedicated to bringing the magic of books and the joy of reading directly into the homes of children who need our support.

With 1 in 4 children in the UK leaving primary school unable to read or write properly, we recruit and train in-person and online volunteers to introduce children from under-resourced areas to the pleasure of reading.

What’s Involved?

As a Doorstep Library reading volunteer, you’ll visit the same families at their homes every week with a backpack full of books to share with the children and encourage their love of reading.

You will:

• Handpick books based on the children’s age, interests, and reading level
• Visit their homes with your volunteer partner for 20-minute reading sessions  
• Leave behind a selection of books for the children to borrow for the week

Our unique home-based approach allows our volunteers to build trusting relationships with families, helping them to connect with the community and equip them with the skills they need to succeed later in life.

When and Where?

We have volunteer opportunities in: Hammersmith, Parsons Green, Fulham Broadway, Shepherds Bush, East Acton, Latimer Road, Euston, Kings Cross, Marylebone, Edgware Road, Queens Park, Pimlico, Brixton and Tulse Hill.

• Time commitment: One evening a week, or once every 3 weeks as a Stand-In Volunteer
• Hours per week: 2.5
• Days: Our projects run on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays depending on where you are based from 4:30pm – 7:00pm

Skills/Experience Needed

• Be able to make a regular weekly commitment or once every 3 weeks for a Stand-In Volunteer during school term time
• Be compliant with our safeguarding procedures, complete an Enhanced DBS, Child Barred List check, and provide 2 references
• Enjoy spending time with children and believe in education for all
• Have comfortable fluency in English
• Be non-judgmental and respectful of a variety of lifestyles and children’s learning
• Have excellent communication skills – be able to listen to families and communicate effectively with Project Leaders (including via text/emails/calls with Doorstep Library staff)
• Be reliable – always attending a pre-agreed session and giving plenty of notice in advance of absences
• Be friendly – to build good relationships with families, your volunteer partner and the rest of the team
• Be confident – to lead the session or mentor a new volunteer
• Be patient, persistent and flexible – tailoring your approach to each family’s needs

Doorstep Library is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and all those it comes into contact with. All volunteers undergo rigorous safer recruitment processes including specified interview questions, a DBS check, and the collection of written and/or verbal references.  Safeguarding training is a mandatory part of the induction process for all volunteers, and they are expected to always adhere to our safeguarding policies and procedures.  

At Koala NW, our volunteer support is at the heart of what we do and we know how much our families appreciate the support our volunteers offer.

As a Koala North West volunteer, you will be given the training and support to make a real difference to families in your community. You will also develop transferable skills which can support you in your life, whether that’s at home or at work. You will make friends along the way and join other volunteers for peer support sessions and join in celebrations like National Volunteers week & Christmas events.

Once you have completed your 6 weeks training programme, you will be matched to a suitable family to offer emotional and practical support. You will be supported by a coordinator and given support and supervision regularly.

Every family we support is unique so the support that we offer is equally unique to that family and depends entirely on the circumstances and what they would like support with. We help parents identify what they are already doing well, and support them to build on this to improve their relationships with their children.

You will be visiting families in their own homes once a week for an hour or two, if you have availability to support more than one family just let us know and you can be matched to additional families. Or you may be offering virtual support. During the pandemic, we had to adjust our home visiting to virtual support, via zoom, telephone /What’s App video calls/ texts. It proved very successful as this was a regular contact for families during lockdown.

Due to the success of virtual support, if families prefer this type of support as an alternative to home visits, that’s okay.

Support in one or more of the following areas could be offered:

• Social isolation/loneliness, support families to get outdoors, walking with them to the park or accompanying to appointments etc
• Poor emotional and/or mental health wellbeing
• Managing children’s behaviours/sleep issues
• School readiness
• Family bereavement
• Disability/complex needs or ill health
• New baby/multiple births
• Difficulty with home management/routine
• Budgeting

All home visits by volunteers are carried out between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday. (Flexible around family and work commitments)

What do Koala NW expected from you?

• You have parenting experience
• You have a non-judgemental attitude
• You are flexible and are able to commit to 2 hours minimum each week for a period of at least 12 months
• You are able to attend a 6 week training course. Training is held in Liverpool and runs 1 day a week for 6 consecutive weeks between 9.30am and 2.30pm
• You are willing to attend ongoing training to support you in your volunteering role.

We are proud that 43% of our current staff started as volunteers with Koala North West.

Since we started, we have supported in excess of 12,000 families and trained more than 1,500 volunteers.

Volunteering can change a family's life and 1-2 hours per week can make such a huge difference. Our volunteers are the difference.

Full training will be provided and paid travel expenses.

Job Type: Volunteer

Work Location: In person