Compassionate Neighbour volunteer

Compassionate Neighbour volunteer

Compassionate Neighbours provide social and emotional support and companionship to people who are experiencing loneliness or social isolation Compassionate Neighbours are matched with people based on location, interests and character, with the aim of creating genuine, mutually-beneficial friendships. Compassionate Neighbours can help others by: • visiting regularly for a chat, offering friendship and a listening ear • attending one of our Community Hubs/Compassionate Cafés • helping them stay connected to the community • visiting local places (such as a café, garden centre or shops) • sharing an activity or hobby

You don’t need any special qualifications — just empathy, reliability, and a willingness to be present. We’ll give you full training and ongoing support every step of the way. You need to be 18 or over. We particularly need volunteers in the following areas:- • Watford (Central, West & North Watford) • Hertsmere (Borehamwood & Bushey) • Three Rivers (South Oxhey) • St Albans (East St Albans) We work really hard to make sure that we match you to the right volunteering role for you and want to make sure the process is straightforward and easy to access. The process for applying will be: • Initial chat with someone from the volunteering team to find out more about you and give you more information about the role • A more detailed chat with the Compassionate Neighbours lead who will be able to answer your questions in more detail and explain exactly how it works • You will attend a 1-day training course - these are held every 2 months and alternate between our offices in Watford and St Albans. • Once you've been to the training and are happy to join us, we will ask you to fill in an online application form (we can help with this) and do an online DBS (Criminal records check). We also take up one personal reference.

All our potential volunteers attend a 1-day training course before starting the application process. We ask you to read our Volunteer training book before you start. Ongoing training and support will be given by the team. There are also other training opportunities available to volunteers from our Learning & Development team

What’s in it for you? •

Not sure which role suits you or need a little friendly help? Please contact Angie at [contact hidden] for London or Rebecca at [contact hidden] for Manchester.