Community Support Volunteers

Our Community Support service provides emotional and social support to people living with HIV, so that they can live full and independent lives. The service is non-judgemental and non-discriminatory, and provided in a way that reflects the ethos of the charity.

Aims

Through our Community Support service we aim to:

• provide emotional support and social contact
• help clients to access THT and other services so that they can stay independent, without being isolated or feeling in crisis.

Our volunteers do this by providing face-to-face support in a client’s home and telephone support at regular, agreed times; an arrangement which needs to be reviewed from time to time. Volunteers also provide guidance and support to service users when they have to make decisions about treatments and other life choices.

Our volunteers can provide short term support up to a maximum of 3 months or longer term support of 6 months or more depending on the needs and individual circumstances of the client.

At regular intervals we review our service with our clients to make sure it is still meeting their needs, looking at whether original goals have been met and identifying any new needs. Volunteers are then required to complete the necessary review paperwork.

What the service provides

As a Community Support volunteer you will:

• be someone your client can talk to in confidence
• will be a regular visitor
• be dependable
• assist your client to relieve their isolation
• discuss important relationships which your client may be having difficulty with
• help in planning ways for obtaining the health care they want
• help to access information and other THT specialist services
• lend help and support in their contact with other agencies
• be available to attend monthly support group meetings

Your role is to be a good, dependable source of information and, above all, someone to talk to.

What the service can’t provide

We can't do everything for our clients, and we don't expect our volunteers to:

• help with domestic chores
• do shopping, cooking or preparing meals

How we support our volunteers

Full training is provided before you join the service to ensure you’re equipped with the knowledge and skills required to be a Community Support volunteer. On going skills training is also provided at regular intervals. You are required to attend monthly support group meetings to provide you with the opportunity to discuss your work and to learn from the experiences of other volunteers in your group.

The service is very much in demand and, at the moment, we don’t have sufficient volunteers to meet the growing need for this type of community support especially in the south London area. You should have around 3-4 hours a week to spare to meet with and provide support to your service user and you must be able to attend support group meetings which are held in the evening once every month.

Good quality training is provided to equip you with the skills and knowledge to undertake the Community Support role. Please don’t apply for this position if you are unable to commit to working as a Communuity Support volunteer for at least 12 months after completing your training.