Volunteer Victim Advocate

"Volunteering as a Victim Advocate has been both fascinating and challenging. It has given me the chance to help make a positive difference to someone’s life. Volunteering with VOCAS has provided me with the experience and inspiration to pursue a career in victim support." Volunteer Victim Advocate

As a Volunteer Victim Advocate you will working alongside Victim Advocates and their clients who have been a victim of crime. You will provide Self-Advocacy coaching to individuals and use our Anti-Social Behavior Toolkit when the person is a victim of this crime.

Coaching will be done either 1:1 with clients or as part of a larger peer group. You will be empowering the victims to have the skills and confidence to have their voice heard without an advocate in the future and to be more aware of their rights.

Benefits of Volunteering with SWAN

• Training in coaching, basic advocacy principles, safeguarding and teaching self-advocacy
• The opportunity to develop new and existing skills and gain experience volunteering in a charity
• The opportunity to meet new people
• The opportunity to build a Personal Development Portfolio with full training and ongoing access to keep knowledge and skills up to date
• Support to progress to paid employment
• The satisfaction of knowing you are making a vital difference to the work of SWAN and VOCAS
• The satisfaction of empowering clients to find their own voice and tell others what they want or need
• Being part of an organisation, which has strong values and provides help and support to those most marginalised in society
• The opportunity to see clients’ progress
• To be part of the education of other services in self-advocacy promotion
• Out of pocket expenses reimbursed - £0.45 per mile for mileage, all bus fares, train tickets and costs incurred can be claimed back immediately

What type of person are we looking for?

• Positive attitude towards vulnerable clients who may have a variety of complex needs
• Someone with around 6-8 hours (1 day) per week to spare
• Confident to communicate both verbal and written information
• Experience of delivering training or workshops to groups is desirable
• Some experience of record keeping and report writing
• Knowledge and understanding of Safeguarding is desirable but full training is given
• IT literate

Please note that while the skills and knowledge listed are good to have, SWAN also appreciates that life experience can make you the ideal volunteer for a role such as this. We are keen to hear from people who have been through adversity and would like to help empower others in the same position. If this sounds like you then do, please get in touch.

Equality and Diversity Statement

Equality, diversity and inclusion are core to SWAN’s values. It is important that our workforce reflects the diverse communities in which we work. We therefore welcome applications from people who represent the diversity of the people we advocate for and the communities we work in.

Application process only. Please request and complete a Volunteer Application form to be considered for this role. If you require any assistance with completing the application please get in touch.