THT Direct

THT Direct is a national telephone helpline service. It provides support, information and advice to people with HIV and their families, friends and carers, as well as to people who are at risk of getting HIV or who have worries about HIV.

Aims

THT Direct is staffed by teams of trained employees and volunteers who answer all enquiries that the service gets by telephone and email. They provide signposting, referral, information, support and advice that is clear, accurate, up-to-date and comprehensive.

What the service provides

THT Direct provides:

• emotional support
• HIV-related information
• details of and/or referral to HIV services
• briefing sheets on frequently asked questions
• briefing sheets on the different services that the charity provides
• general advice, for example about eligibility for welfare benefits.

We aim to be a good, dependable source of information and, above all, to provide someone to talk to.

What the service can’t provide

The THT Direct team doesn't meet face-to-face with those who contact the service and can't offer callers the same person to talk to every time.

Volunteer roles within the service

There are three main roles that volunteers fill at THT Direct:

• phone volunteers
• administration volunteers
• information volunteers.

Telephone volunteers offer emotional and practical support, information and referrals to other services. The balance varies, with some volunteers focus on providing emotional support, and others on providing information and referrals.

Administration volunteers supplying administration support to the service and help with mail-outs.

Information volunteers respond to email enquiries from the public and help supply information to the team.

Your commitment

We offer a comprehensive training programme to all volunteers, so that they can develop their skills and knowledge within the service. On completion of your training, we ask that our volunteers agree to work with the service for at least one year and attend any appropriate training events.

We ask our phone volunteers to staff a minimum of two shifts per month (a shift is three hours) and one weekend shift every three months. If you can ever work more shifts then this is always welcome.

Our other volunteers need to be available for at least four hours a week on a regular basis, although this is flexible. We are especially in need of volunteers from Black and minority ethnic communities who are underrepresented within this service.

Requirements

To be a volunteer with THT Direct you'll need to:

• have good, clear communication skills in English
• be calm and level-headed when speaking to callers on the phone
• be sensitive to the needs of those who contact the service
• be able to access information quickly
• have basic computer skills; for example, being able to use email (full training will be given if necessary)
• be committed to learning more about HIV and AIDS
• deliver a service in a non-judgemental and non-discriminatory manner.