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Seeking empathic, professional volunteers to support vulnerable adults with M.E./CFS by phone/online, to understand their rights and make informed choices. Two hours a week; full advocacy training and supervision provided. Are you a good listener with an empathetic, professional and methodical approach? Do you have two hours a week to support vulnerable adults with myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)? Action for M.E.’s UK-wide advocacy service, expanding in Scotland, supports adults with M.E./CFS to understand their rights, make informed choices, and have their views and wishes heard and respected, dealing with issues including health, social care, housing and employment. You’ll work entirely online/by phone to meet and represent clients, agree an action plan, undertake research, contact professionals and more. Full training, support and supervision provided by our experienced, friendly team.

Are you a good listener with an empathetic, professional and methodical approach? Do you have two hours a week to support vulnerable adults with myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)? Action for M.E.’s UK-wide advocacy service, expanding in Scotland, supports adults with M.E./CFS to understand their rights, make informed choices, and have their views and wishes heard and respected, dealing with issues including health, social care, housing and employment. You’ll work entirely online/by phone to meet and represent clients, agree an action plan, undertake research, contact professionals and more. Full training, support and supervision provided by our experienced, friendly team. You will be: • supporting and representing people with M.E./CFS on an issue where they are finding it hard to have their views, wishes or needs heard • providing an independent and confidential service • helping people with M.E./CFS understand their rights and options • helping people with M.E./CFS make informed choices This will involve: • being allocated someone with M.E/CFS as a client, or working alongside an Advocacy Officer providing casework support for a client • holding meetings by phone and video call (and occasionally face to face*) with clients to learn about the issue that is affecting them and the outcome they want to achieve • working collaboratively with a client to produce an action plan • completing actions within set timeframes • regularly reviewing the progress of your client’s case • researching and explaining information to your client • helping your client prepare for meetings • writing emails/letters to and on behalf of your client (with their direction) • representing your client’s views accurately

Volunteering Matters Overview At Volunteering Matters we believe everyone in the UK should have the opportunity to thrive, so we bring people together to overcome some of society’s most complex issues through the power of volunteering. We partner with communities to overcome adversity, tackling social isolation and loneliness, improving health, developing skills and opportunities. And because we’re a national charity, we do this at scale, sharing our expertise and building partnerships to make an even bigger impact. We turn local knowledge and energy into action and progress, building stronger communities and a better future for all. Project Overview Our Family Supporters in Edinburgh project offers practical and emotional support to families across the city of Edinburgh, empowering them to face a range of life challenges. We recruit, train and match dedicated, local volunteers to help families every step of the way, spending 1-1 time together on a personalised set of goals chosen by the family, for the family. We can help in many ways, such as improved living standards, budgeting, healthier eating, better school life and behaviour, access to health and wellbeing aid, as well as introducing parents to community resources, to name a few. So far, thousands of families across the UK have benefitted from our service and we are now delighted to extend the programmes reach to families in Edinburgh. Who can volunteer with us? Our volunteers are locally based people with an understanding of the challenges that families are facing. Aged 18+, each volunteer brings different life experiences and skills that they can use to help the family they are matched to, offering support on a weekly basis for an hour or so each week, usually for 6-9 months at a time that suits everyone. They build a strong relationship based on trust and mutual respect, acting as a friendly face who listens and cares about the family. All volunteers are interviewed, trained to the highest standards and undergo disclosure checks before being matched with a family. We also encourage and welcome volunteers who have the ability to speak multiple languages join our team! What can we offer volunteers? As well as the sense of achievement that comes through supporting a family, our volunteers will have the opportunity to learn and develop new skills, attend social events with other volunteers and enhance their employability. Certificates are provided upon completion of induction training and at the end of the commitment, with project staff happy to provide references for future studies or employment.

Volunteering Matters Overview At Volunteering Matters we believe everyone in the UK should have the opportunity to thrive, so we bring people together to overcome some of society’s most complex issues through the power of volunteering. We partner with communities to overcome adversity, tackling social isolation and loneliness, improving health, developing skills and opportunities. And because we’re a national charity, we do this at scale, sharing our expertise and building partnerships to make an even bigger impact. We turn local knowledge and energy into action and progress, building stronger communities and a better future for all. Project Overview Our Family Supporters in Edinburgh project offers practical and emotional support to families across the city of Edinburgh, empowering them to face a range of life challenges. We recruit, train and match dedicated, local volunteers to help families every step of the way, spending 1-1 time together on a personalised set of goals chosen by the family, for the family. We can help in many ways, such as improved living standards, budgeting, healthier eating, better school life and behaviour, access to health and wellbeing aid, as well as introducing parents to community resources, to name a few. So far, thousands of families across the UK have benefitted from our service and we are now delighted to extend the programmes reach to families in Edinburgh. Who can volunteer with us? Our volunteers are locally based people with an understanding of the challenges that families are facing. Aged 18+, each volunteer brings different life experiences and skills that they can use to help the family they are matched to, offering support on a weekly basis for an hour or so each week, usually for 6-9 months at a time that suits everyone. They build a strong relationship based on trust and mutual respect, acting as a friendly face who listens and cares about the family. All volunteers are interviewed, trained to the highest standards and undergo disclosure checks before being matched with a family. We also encourage and welcome volunteers who have the ability to speak multiple languages join our team! What can we offer volunteers? As well as the sense of achievement that comes through supporting a family, our volunteers will have the opportunity to learn and develop new skills, attend social events with other volunteers and enhance their employability. Certificates are provided upon completion of induction training and at the end of the commitment, with project staff happy to provide references for future studies or employment.

Grandmentors is an award winning inter-generational mentoring programme. We recruit, train and support older volunteers aged 50+ to mentor care experienced young people, or young people with Adverse Childhood Experiences. Grandmentors provides a solution. Put very simply, Grandmentors works by us recruiting, training and providing support for volunteers aged 50+ who draw on their wealth of personal and professional experience to help young people (aged 16 – 24), living with adverse childhood experiences such as leaving care, on their pathway to independence. Meeting weekly/fortnightly, Grandmentors helps young people to address any challenges and choices they face on their journey. Our Grandmentors encourage the young person to identify their needs and find ways to help. Mentors provide social, emotional and practical support. Each young person alongside their Grandmentor agree a personalised support plan and set goals based on these needs. Working together they explore and review, over time, the young person’s challenges and priorities. These can range from career/education goals (CV’s, UCAS forms, job applications), budget planning, support accessing housing, dealing with conflict, stress, enhancing physical, mental health, wellbeing and lots more. We are looking for Grandmentors to join our new programme in East Lothian

Our Family Supporters in Edinburgh project offers practical and emotional support to families across the city of Edinburgh, empowering them to face a range of life challenges. We recruit, train and match dedicated, local volunteers to help families every step of the way, spending 1-1 time together on a personalised set of goals chosen by the family, for the family. We can help in many ways, such as improved living standards, budgeting, healthier eating, better school life and behaviour, access to health and wellbeing aid, as well as introducing parents to community resources, to name a few. So far, thousands of families across the UK have benefitted from our service and we are now delighted to extend the programmes reach to families in Edinburgh.

Working as part of a collective advocacy team to raise awareness and speak about own experiences of eating disorders. The role involves working with the Collective advocacy development worker to show a collective advoacy film and facilitate a group discussion in various community settings throughout the Lothians including: schools , universities , health etc. As all of the workshops take place during the day the volunteer would need to be available during the day. The role requires someone who is able to relate to other young people and is willing to share personal lived experience of an eating disorder of any kind , in order to educate and raise awareness around eating disorders amongst other young people ; willingness to talk about and share experiences of eating disorders with other young people in group situations in various community settings including : schools , universities ,public events etc. Due to Covid 19 CAPS we have had to alter the way we work. Groups and volunteer roles are currently taking place online until we can resume face to face meetings.

Midlothian Voices is a Collective advocacy group of people in Midlothian who identify as having Mental Health issues. CAPS facilitate their group to enable them to come together to achieve their goals. The group is fairly new but since getting together as the end of last year they have identified three goals for the group to work on: To engage with services at a strategic level by attending meetings and events where decision making happens, to work on topic specific issues that are important to people such as Welfare Reform and reducing stigma and to bring people in Midlothian together around these issues. So far members of the group have attended Lothian wide events on Human Rights and the reform of the Scottish Health Council and have looked at how these issues are relevant in Midlothian and fed back through the Mental Health Strategy group on their thoughts. They have also been part of a sit down with the Minister for Mental Health at the NHS annual conference to ask questions about Mental Health services in Midlothian Midlothian voices describe themselves as a go-getting friendly group and have many ideas on issues they would like to work on in the future, they are very much looking forward to welcoming new members of the group and generating new ideas. Individuals can get involved in the project at a level that suits their own abilities, skills and commitments. Meetings usually take place every six weeks. Due to Covid 19 CAPS we have had to alter the way we work. Groups and volunteer roles are currently taking place online until we can resume face to face meetings.

This role involves using your own lived experiences of Personality Disorder in a positive way to raise awareness and campaign for change. The aim of the project is for people who have been given a diagnosis of a personality disorder or had experiences that they feel fit with a personality disorder diagnosis to come together, have a collective voice and create change.The group decides what it wants to do (it is experience-led) and has a CAPS staff member to enable/facilitate its decisions Individuals can get involved in a way which suits them. Activities and achievements of the group so far have included: developing and delivering experience led training; creating films based around experiences of living with a Personality Disorder; organising various awareness events , creating leaflets and resource packs based on peoples’ lived experience, responding to and creating consultations and attending and delivering presentations at conferences. (Collective advocacy is where a group of people who are all facing a common problem and have had similar experiences get together to work on specific issues and have their voices heard. The group as a whole may campaign on an issue that affects them. A collective voice can be stronger than that of an individual, as groups are more difficult to ignore.) Due to Covid 19 CAPS we have had to alter the way we work. Groups and volunteer roles are currently taking place online until we can resume face to face meetings.

Are you a good listener with an empathetic, professional and methodical approach? Do you have two hours a week to support vulnerable adults with myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)? Action for M.E.’s UK-wide advocacy service, expanding in Scotland, supports adults with M.E./CFS to understand their rights, make informed choices, and have their views and wishes heard and respected, dealing with issues including health, social care, housing and employment. You’ll work entirely online/by phone to meet and represent clients, agree an action plan, undertake research, contact professionals and more.