Navigate Advocacy. Volunteering Opportunities Recruitment Pack. May 2016

Transcription

1 Navigate Advocacy Volunteering Opportunities Recruitment Pack May 2016 Never underestimate your ability to make someone else's life better. Volunteering to help local people has made my life better in return. Derek, Navigate Volunteer 1

2 Introduction Thank you for your interest in Volunteering with Navigate. Volunteers are at the very heart of Navigate! We wouldn t be able to deliver our unique service without the commitment, experience and skills of our local volunteers who give up their own time to help others. What is Navigate? Navigate is a citizen advocacy project. It s about local people supporting other local people to solve a problem with their housing or welfare benefits. We know that, for many reasons, some people can find it difficult to get help from professional services, to find the information they need, or to communicate with staff about their needs, wants and choices. Navigate bridges this gap. We train and fully support local volunteers from many walks of life - to provide an advocacy and mentoring service that helps people get the advice, information and services that they need. Volunteers help their clients to: Define and express their problem, worry or need Clarify the steps needed to solve their problem Find, understand and use information Find specialist services and organisations Navigate systems (housing and welfare) Protect their rights Who runs Navigate? Navigate is run by Glasgow Homelessness Network. We are a charity and umbrella organisation tackling homelessness. We work in the areas of community participation, policy, training, monitoring and research. Navigate is funded by the Oak Foundation and Comic Relief. It also receives additional support from Glasgow City Council (Poverty Leadership Panel). 2

3 Why Volunteer? Comprehensive training We provide a 5 day induction programme. It is a fun and interesting start, designed to give you the tools and information to carry out your volunteering role. It is also the chance to get to know other local volunteers and the staff team. We cover the theory and practical application of Navigate, including: The aims of Navigate and peer approaches Using advocacy & mentoring to help people Communication, active listening and motivational interviewing Protecting personal and professional boundaries Peer education, raising awareness and systems advocacy Housing & homelessness rights Welfare benefits & reform If you are looking to enter or continue in the field of social or community work, there is the option of working towards a recognised qualification (SCQF level 6 community award). A supportive staff team to help you achieve your own goals Navigate works to the accredited standards of the UK Investing in Volunteers. You will have a dedicated link worker, a member of staff who will work with you to develop a Personal Development Plan to make sure that volunteering with us benefits your own personal goals and aspirations. Awareness of current issues You will have up to date knowledge about policy changes and issues that might affect your family, friends or wider social network and you ll be in a position to make them aware of it and what it might mean to them. The opportunity to make real changes Your work as a volunteer will help identify areas where things aren t working well. Using this information, together, we will work to raise awareness, lobby decision makers and solve problems. Expenses You will never be out of pocket when volunteering with Navigate. 3

4 Volunteer Role Information Volunteer Title: Location: Working Hours: Other Essentials: Navigate Volunteer Based at Glasgow Homelessness Network, Unit 16A, The Adelphi Centre, 12 Commercial Road, Glasgow, G5 0PQ. (Travel to attend meetings and appointments may be required) Minimum 4 hours per week, During office hours (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday) Enhanced Protection of Vulnerable Groups Disclosure Check Core tasks: 1. To use your life and local experience to work with people who, for example: Have issues relating to their current housing situation Have moved into a new tenancy and need help to get to know, and feel confident in their new community Need help to navigate the Welfare Benefit System and understand how welfare reforms may impact upon their lives. 2. Work with individuals on a one to one basis to help them: Define and express their problem, worry, or need Clarify the steps needed to solve their problem Find, understand and use information Find specialist services and organisations Navigate systems (housing and welfare) Protect their rights 3. Use knowledge and skills to identify problems, gaps and barriers encountered by individuals and/or groups of individuals. 4. To work solely in the interests of clients and represent only their views, wishes and opinions. Additional tasks: 5. Some volunteers want to participate more fully with the project and we warmly welcome this! We have many opportunities to widen your role, including project planning, representing others, lobbying decision makers and participating in local and city-wide meetings and forums. 4

5 Application Process If you would like to become a Navigate Volunteer please complete the attached application form and return it to us by 4pm on Friday 17 th June. You can post, or hand your application form into us, whichever is easiest. More information? If you would like more information about the Volunteer Role please call us on , or text your name and VOLINFO to and we ll call you for a chat. You can also us at navigate@ghn.org.uk. Finding the right volunteers! Working with real people who have real problems is quite a skill and the competition for places can be quite high. We ll invite you to an informal group session and interview which will: Provide more information about Navigate Give you an opportunity to speak to existing volunteers and project staff Help you decide if Navigate is right for you This group session and interview will be held on Thursday 23 rd June 2016 in our offices at GHN, Adelphi Centre, 12 Commercial Road, Glasgow, G5 0PQ. What we ask of you We ask that you consider the recruitment and training programme which cover mandatory elements of the Navigate volunteer role. It is important to us that you attend ALL the training sessions. We have provisionally set dates for the 5 days of training, but we would like to know if these dates suit you and if not please let us know what you re preferred day and times are. Deadline for Applications Friday 17 June 4pm Feedback to Candidates Monday 20 March Group Session & Interview Thursday 23 June 10am to 3pm Feedback to Candidates Friday 24 June Navigate Training Monday 4 July 10am to 3pm Tuesday 5 July 10am to 3pm Wednesday 6 July 10am to 3pm Monday 11 July 10am to 3pm Tuesday 12 July 10am to 3pm 5

6 Where you can find us GHN Unit 16A, The Adelphi Centre, 12 Commercial Road, Glasgow G5 0PQ Adelphi Centre Navigate at Glasgow Homelessness Network ( GHN ). A charity registered in Scotland (SC ) and company limited by guarantee (SC112361). Registered Office Adelphi Centre, 12 Commercial Road, Glasgow G5 0PQ. Tel: , info@ghn.org.uk Director: Margaret-Ann Brünjes 6

7 Navigate Volunteer Application Form Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Navigate. Before completing this application form, please refer to the Volunteer Recruitment Pack which will tell you more about the project and the role of volunteers. If you have any questions before applying, please get in touch with us on , text us on or us at Navigate Volunteer Training will take place between 10am and 3pm on the following dates: Monday 4 July Tuesday 5 July Wednesday 6 July Monday 11 July Tuesday 12 July Will you be able to attend ALL of these training sessions? Yes No If you cannot attend the above dates please let us know your preference for days and times for training (we cannot guarantee to accommodate these days and times, but will try our best to work with you): Personal Information Name: Address: Postcode: Telephone No. (Home): Telephone No. (Mobile): How would you prefer us to contact you? Letter Home Phone Mobile Phone 7

8 What is your link to Glasgow? (please tick all that apply) I Live Here / Work Here Which Part? North West North East East End South East South West West End I Study Here Which Part? North West North East East End South East South West West End No link Which local authority area do you live? Are you currently? Employed (Full time) Employed (Part time) Unemployed Education (Full time) Education (Part time) Volunteering Retired Training Other: Please tell us about any employment or learning you have (or are currently) taken part in. This can be school, college or any training courses you have undertaken. 8

9 Please tell us a little but about your skills, experience and / or interests? (for example: communication skills, helping other people, team work) Please tell us why you are interested in volunteering with Navigate? Do you have any commitments that may restrict your availability to volunteer? Yes No If yes, please tell us a little about these commitments: 9

10 Do you have any health or disability issues that may affect your volunteering role? Yes No If yes, please tell us about these: Is there anything that we could do to make it easier for you to volunteer? Confidentiality The information you have provided will be kept securely in the strictest confidence under the requirements of the Data Protection Act We would like to store your details on our secure server. This will allow us to contact you about other volunteering opportunities and demonstrate to our funders the numbers of people who are interested in our volunteering opportunities. We won t share your details with any third parties. Please tick this box if you are happy for us to store your information: Declaration I declare that the information I have provided is correct to the best of my knowledge. I understand that my personal data will be held in confidence in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 I agree that the information within this form can be used for monitoring purposes Signed: Date: Thank you for applying to Navigate Please return to you application form by 4pm on Friday 17 June 2016 to: CONFIDENTIAL Janice Higgins Freepost RSEJ-SULT-REEU Glasgow Homelessness Network Unit 16a, Adelphi Centre, 12 Commercial Road Glasgow, G5 0PQ Or your application to: navigate@ghn.org.uk 10

11 Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form The information requested below is optional but it would help us to know a little more about you and help us to ensure that we engage with a wide cross section of the public. This form will be separated from your application form when we receive it and will not be used when we assess your application form. The information you give will be treated confidentially and will not be shared with any third parties. You can ignore any questions you don t want to answer, and please ask if you would like help to complete the form. (1) Age group (Please tick) Under Prefer not to SAY (2) Are you (Please tick) Male Female (3) What religion, if any, do you belong to? (Please tick) Buddhist Christian Hindu Jewish Muslim Sikh None Prefer not to say Other if other please tell us: (4) How would you describe your sexuality (please tick): Gay /Lesbian Bisexual Heterosexual/straight Other (please specify) Prefer not to say (5) Economic activity status Employed Unemployed Student School pupil Retired Carer Other Prefer not to say (6) What is your ethnic group? (Please tick) 11

12 Choose one section from A to G, and then tick the appropriate box. A: White Scottish Irish Other British Any other White background (please write here) B: Asian; Asian Scottish or Asian British Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Any other Asian background (please write here) C: Black; Black Scottish or Black British Caribbean African Any other Black background (please write here) D: Chinese Chinese E: Other ethnic group Any other (please write here) F: Mixed Any mixed background G: Prefer not to say (7) Do you consider yourself to be disabled? (A Disabled person is defined in the Disability Discrimination Act as someone with a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term impact on their ability to carry out day-today activities.) Yes No Prefer not to say If you consider yourself to have a disability and wish to provide any details please do so below: Mobility Visual Hearing Learning Mental Health (8) Could you tell us the first 3 letters/numbers of your postcode? 12