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Support Hub Volunteer (Edinburgh)

  • Simon Community Scotland
  • VO80767

Description

This role offers an opportunity to be part of our team in a supportive environment that’s helping people to feel valued, listened to and hopeful. We’ve created a place where people can access advice and information, help to find accommodation in a crisis or something more long-term or even just a listening ear and a friendly face. We’re making a difference as quickly and as effectively as possible.
Our team provided over 23,400 face to face supports to people facing very difficult situations in the last year. People amaze us every day by what they can achieve when empowered with hope, ambition and support that is designed just for them. The additional help from our valuable volunteers can make a real difference.

Specific Tasks:
Providing a warm and friendly welcome to the people we support
Having positive conversations and providing support to people accessing the Hub’s services
Providing support to make phone calls and use the internet
Helping people with their CVs, social media, emails, employability and education
Basic signposting and supporting access to services such as places to access food
Helping people with tasks such as accessing food vouchers, bus tickets and bidding for houses
Supporting people to access benefits and grants

Skills and Qualities Required
Successful Hub Volunteers will:
Have the ability to work with people in a way that takes into consideration their individual and cultural beliefs without expressing personal opinion
Be able to approach your volunteering role and tasks with a flexible and non judgemental attitude
Be empathetic towards our client group
Have good communication and people skills
Enjoy meeting and interacting with people from diverse backgrounds
Commitment to high levels of customer service – experience of dealing with the public both in person and on the telephone would be beneficial
Resilience and tolerance with people who have faced multiple exclusions

Commitment: We welcome volunteers to stay with us and continue to help us make a difference in people’s lives. 12 months would be the ideal minimum but we respect your time and commitment’s elsewhere.

For this role we ask for a minimum of four hours a week.

Our recruitment follows the Safer Recruitment process, which means giving consideration to safeguarding arrangements at every step. We will ask you to attend an informal interview, provide us with two references and attend our Mini IMPACT training – a shortened version of our dynamic 5-day staff programme.

Organisation aims and objectives

Every day we help make positive things happen for people facing extremely difficult circumstances. We provide expert, compassionate and flexible support and link people into the services they need. We deliver a range of services across Glasgow, Edinburgh (Streetwork) and across Central Scotland. We work with people so that they can resolve their homelessness as quickly as possible. We maintain contact with people – in diverse circumstances – so that we can help them address the underlying reasons for their homelessness and get the support they need. By working and learning together we can drive impact and change person to person – to transform everyone’s experience of homelessness in Scotland.

Frequency and commitment details

We hope volunteers can commit to about one shift per week. Shifts run every day in the morning and afternoon and tend to be about 4 hours long.

Restrictions

Experience required: Able to approach your volunteering role and tasks with a flexible and non judgemental attitude Empathetic towards our client group Good communication and people skills Enjoy meeting and interacting with people Experience not required as full training and induction will be given to the right candidates who have a genuine interest in helping those suffering from the causes and effects of homelessness
Minimum age: 18

Support

Expenses paid: Yes
Expenses details: Out of pocket expenses paid

Last updated 3 months ago

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