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Activity Buddy
- Positive Help
- VO102766
Description
The role of the Activity Buddy is to provide practical support and reduce isolation. The people we work with can find it hard to attend appointments and leisure activities due to poor physical/mental health, limited mobility, social anxiety, or literacy issues. When illness, mobility, or side-effects of medication make housework or going out difficult, we offer support to make the home environment more comfortable.
Volunteers play a vital part in improving service users' physical health, mental well-being, and quality of life through supportive relationships, community connection, creating pathways for personal growth, and collaborative goal setting. By building trust and connection, Volunteers help individuals to thrive within their homes and communities.
As an Activity Buddy, you will be matched with a person, build a trusting relationship, and accompany them in activities to help build up their confidence. This might include joining a person when trying a new hobby, helping within their home, escorting them when grocery shopping, or having regular conversations over the phone.
What You'll Do
• Work one-on-one with an individual and build up a relationship with the Service User (with support from Positive Help Staff).
• Undertake the tasks that have been agreed in collaboration with Service User, Volunteer and Staff as part of the Service User’s Support Plan.
• Travel to a risk-assessed Service User’s home or meet in a community location (Positive Help reimburses all travel expenses).
• Accompany a person to a block of weekly meetings such as a pottery class, yoga class, or even join them on a bus journey to help ease their social anxieties.
• Communicate with Positive Help Staff about availability and arrangements for upcoming sessions.
• Complete feedback forms and expenses forms after each session.
• Attend check-in meetings and group support sessions with Staff as required.
Organisation aims and objectives
Positive Help offers practical help to people affected by HIV and/or Hepatitis C in Edinburgh and the Lothians. The four core services are delivered by a team of trained volunteers. The services provided include: Befriending for children and young people; Home Support (cleaning, de-cluttering, painting, DIY, gardening, and other domestic tasks); a free Transport service, which helps people to get to and from medical appointments as well as support groups or local supermarkets; and Study Buddies, a homework mentoring service for children.
Availability
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Frequency and commitment details
• Regular: Weekly, fortnightly or once a month, after initial training. • Can be Mondays to Fridays during the day or evenings and Saturdays during the day. Each session will be approximately 1.5 hours plus travel time.
Restrictions
Experience required: • Personal qualities: Empathy, patience, reliability, and a caring, non-judgmental attitude.
• Skills: Good listening, timekeeping, and relationship-building abilities.
• Commitment to values: Upholding Service Users’ confidentiality and maintaining boundaries.
Travel details: We offer full reimbursement of travel and other reasonable expenses.
Minimum age: 18
Support
Expenses paid: Yes
Expenses details: We offer full reimbursement of travel and other reasonable expenses.
