Next Link Safe House Volunteer

Location: Weston-Super-Mare

Responsible to: Senior Safehouse Support Worker 

Purpose: 

To improve the life of clients living in Next Link Safe House accommodation by providing low level, non-judgmental, social support to women struggling with their mental health. Clients in our houses will have a support worker, but would benefit also from the social support provided by a volunteer, be that a chat over a cup of tea or in a creative group setting. 

Volunteers will be helping clients sustain their independence and continue to build on their recovery.

Benefits of the role:

• A sense of making a real difference to the lives of people who have experienced and fled domestic abuse. 
• Be part of a team of talented and interesting people at Next Link.
• Experience of delivering low intensity front line support whilst gaining knowledge around issues of domestic abuse.
• Meeting and establishing relationships with clients who will have a variety of different backgrounds. 
• Receive ongoing training and support to ensure you are confident and happy in your role, including induction, on-going support and potential opportunities for development.
• Re-imbursement for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses e.g. travel.
• Ability to apply for internally advertised job roles.

Responsibilities:

• Provide a friendly and non-judgmental space for women who might be struggling to settle in, or need a friendly chat. 
• Record details of client interactions and update the Support Worker after every shift with the details of your meeting, and any comments or concerns
• Take part in low level social activities e.g. going for a walk or a cup of tea, to improve the client’s mental health and confidence.
• If you would like, organise activities such as mindfulness, cooking, art and life skills. 
• Accompany to appointments e.g. GP or the first time at a club etc. 
• Support the Client to move on from structured services, connecting them with social networks and sources of support that will enable them to maintain their independence.
• Some admin may be required, i.e. form filling, onward referrals etc. 

Person Specification:

• Some awareness of domestic abuse and the impact it has on people. 
• Good communicator both with clients and the Next Link team as a whole.
• Ability to maintain appropriate relationships whilst respecting professional boundaries.
• Non-judgmental, open minded and empathetic to the issues and barriers faced by people who have fled domestic abuse. 
• Reliable, patient and resilient in order to maintain a level of confidence with the client.
• Ability to maintain up-to-date records.
• Confident drivers welcome, but not essential. 

Please note we will require all volunteers to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service check – this will not incur a cost for the volunteer. 

We also require all staff and volunteers to sign a confidentiality agreement. As part of this you must not disclose the address of any of our safe houses to ensure client safety.

Training and support:

You will receive an induction to cover everything you need to know about the organisation. You will be trained on the importance of confidentiality and safeguarding as well as professional boundaries. You will also be required to complete Safeguarding Adults Foundation training (face-to-face, 3.5 hours) and an Understanding Domestic Abuse training session (face to face, whole day).

During your volunteering you will be required to work alone with the client, however, you will be enrolled on our lone working system, and supported by the Next Link team (in particular the relevant support worker) as well as the Volunteer Coordinator.  You will have supervision with the Volunteer Coordinator and regular contact with the Support Worker in order to discuss any concerns.

The opportunity to attend and contribute at team meetings/team days if this is something you would like. 

Commitment and Duration:

Volunteers will commit to a minimum of 4 hours a week for at least 6 months.