Response to call for submissions on the Whole of Victorian Government Volunteering & Participation Strategy

Transcription

1 29 July 2008 Mr. David Penman Manager, Volunteering Department of Planning & Community Development GPO Box 2392 Melbourne VIC 3001 Dear Mr. Penman Response to call for submissions on the Whole of Victorian Government Volunteering & Participation Strategy Please find attached the response for Hanover Welfare Services to input into the development of the Whole of Victorian Government Volunteering & Participation Strategy The mission of Hanover is to empower people who are homeless, or at imminent risk of becoming so, to enable them to take greater control of their lives. Our mission is also to stimulate and encourage change in Australian society to benefit people experiencing homelessness. We see volunteering as a critical element in enabling us to achieve our mission and we have a number of successful volunteer programs currently in operation. However, with around 170 staff, Hanover is a relatively large community based organisation and yet we face significant challenges in being able to both properly resource our volunteer program and to attract appropriate volunteers. Most significantly, in order to meet national standards and to properly support and mentor volunteers, volunteer programs need to be properly coordinated and resourced. With the exception of the Home and Community Care program within the Department of Human Services (targeted specifically to supporting aged or disabled people) there is no ongoing government funding specifically directed towards volunteering in the community sector. There is no recognition of the need to provide proper support to volunteers both in terms of coordination of the program and direct running costs. As stated in your request for comment, the value of volunteering to Victoria in 2002 was estimated to be equivalent to 7.6% of Gross State Product, or around $10 billion. Some investment by the Victorian Government in better supporting these volunteers would be more than justified given their contribution to the economy and will help build the sustainability of volunteer programs across the state. In fact researchers argue that for every dollar spent on volunteering the return is double. From Hanover s perspective in particular, such an investment would help us to support the more marginalised members of our community get involved in volunteering and build their skills and self esteem to take greater control of their lives and become active participants in the broader community. I applaud the Victorian Government s desire to foster and develop volunteers through this strategy and hope that the attached response will go some way towards building on the opportunities and identifying and addressing the challenges. Yours sincerely Tony Keenan CEO

2 1 Current activities Identify the current activities of your organisation which involve or connect with other volunteering organisations, and/or volunteers Volunteers play a critical role in enabling Hanover Welfare Services to deliver much needed support to people experiencing homelessness across Melbourne. Currently around 100 volunteers provide support ranging from education and community development to gardening and administration. Our dedication to our volunteers is demonstrated through the Community Involvement through Volunteering project as we work to improve our support for the hard working people who dedicate their time to help empower people who are homeless. In 2007 Hanover began the Community Involvement through Volunteering (CITV) project, in partnership with a number of local government and community organisations, with the objective of building a volunteer program to facilitate the involvement of isolated and homeless persons in the wider community, and within Hanover programs. The project is funded by the Department of Planning & Community Development (DPCD). As part of this project Hanover has been working to ensure our volunteer program is sustainable and meets best practice as outlined by the national standards. The project is overseen by a Steer Committee which includes representatives from DPCD, Glen Eira Volunteer Resource Service, City of Port Philip, Inner South Community Health Service, Oznam House, Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre and Windermere Children and Family Services. Ultimately, we aim to extend the program into other community organizations, creating additional opportunities for people experiencing homelessness to volunteer. A key service of the program will therefore revolve around partnership development and ongoing support to facilitate greater awareness and supportive placements for people who are marginalized, and in Hanover s example, experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Although currently at a conceptual stage, this model will involve 1. community education programs for the community organisations involving marginalised volunteers 2. providing follow up case management support to ensure placements are appropriate for both the client volunteer, and the external community organisation; and 3. providing accredited courses as bridges into further education and employment opportunities.

3 2 Organisational rational Describe the reasons why your organisation undertakes its activities in the community: what outcomes in the community is it seeking to achieve? 3 Existing research or studies Are you able to identify any published or unpublished research, studies, evaluations or other work, which your organisation has either conducted itself (or finds very useful), which you think would be relevant to development of this The mission of Hanover is to empower people who are homeless, or at imminent risk of becoming so, to enable them to take greater control of their lives. Our mission is also to stimulate and encourage change in Australian society to benefit people experiencing homelessness. We recognise that social exclusion can be a contributing factor in keeping people in homelessness and poverty. As a result, Hanover is developing service models that enhance social inclusion, positive relationships and challenge misconceptions. Hanover involves volunteers in the knowledge that there are different reasons that have inspired the individual volunteer to donate their skills and time to our organisation. People who volunteer might do so to fulfil an aspiration, to take part in community life, to test out a new career or just to help out. Importantly, we trust that the work carried out by volunteers can be a catalyst for greater understanding, growth and connection. The breadth of work they can perform is also diverse. A volunteer program will bring unexpected rewards for everyone involved, as well as challenges. As such, there is a balance and flexibility required in managing a diverse and effective volunteer program. Volunteering assists us to achieve our mission in a number of different ways: Volunteers assist us to deliver services to our clients both directly (e.g. through the tutor program) and indirectly (e.g. through administration support). Community volunteers provide us with an opportunity to raise awareness of the challenges for people experiencing homelessness and encourage change in the broader Australian community. Finally, supporting people who are experiencing homelessness to volunteer provides an opportunity to help them to build both skills and self esteem, empowering them to take greater control of their lives. As part of the Community Involvement through Volunteering project, Hanover has various pieces of research, including a number of focus groups with our clients. The purpose of the focus groups was to gauge the level of interest in volunteering, the level of understanding of what volunteering was all about and to understand any barriers that clients may experience that prevent them from volunteering. The focus groups and annual client survey highlight that people experiencing homelessness

4 strategy? are no different to the general volunteering population in terms of their willingness to contribute as an active citizen. Preliminary results from the focus group indicate that participants were familiar with the concept of volunteering and most had volunteered in the past. One theme that emerged about the readiness to volunteer was that often because of various appointments and the uncertainty of where they will end up, people in crisis accommodation find it difficult to volunteer on a formal, predictable basis. However, they also had significant time gaps in between these appointments. For this reason, these clients indicated that whilst they would like to volunteer, they would prefer to attend a volunteering event where they can turn up, rather than have an ongoing commitment. Clear themes emerged in terms of interests worth pursuing: volunteer roles that enhance existing living skills or which prepare them for the workforce; they also suggested volunteering in buddied pairs to overcome fears about stigmatization. The other strong theme emerging was the interest to be actively involved in peer advocacy programs such as involving clients in fundraising, community awareness campaigns, public speaking, and influencing service decisions. Barriers identified by clients to volunteering included: issues with lack of clarity around centrelink rules a perception that mutual obligation is the only permissible way to be involved in community. Clients concerned that volunteering may enhance a negative perception that they should be working rather than being actively involved in their community. Some community organisations apply criminal records searches unilaterally, without applying discretion as to the particular criminal charges and thereby potentially excluding people who could make a good contribution in the right role Transport and childcare costs associated with volunteering. Not knowing how to start to work through their options, to find out where to volunteer or to select what they might be able to do. The project has also held a series of staff workshops which have elicited detailed project plans to address Homelessness issues through volunteering. Key themes emerging from the workshops include:

5 4 Challenges or opportunities What important challenges for volunteering does your organisation see emerging in the next 20 years? What opportunities does your organisation see emerging in the next 20 years? Clients are underutilised as peer educators in service planning and community education in the sector generally. Volunteering has a strong potential for creating pathways to employment and education Marginalised clients need to develop interpersonal relational skills more through social recreation activity programs Marginalised clients need to develop daily living skills Clients living where there is no public transport will face difficulties in getting to community organisations to volunteer as they may also not have access to a car; People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds could use volunteer opportunities to develop English language skills but volunteer roles often require advanced English skills. Social isolation strongly exists in transitional housing, and it requires greater facilitation effort to encourage people to volunteer simply providing a list of volunteer opportunities is not sufficient. There are a number of important challenges currently facing volunteering, many of which are likely to increase into the future: As identified in your paper, there is a widening gap between the sorts of volunteering opportunities on offer, and the way people are willing or able to give their time and skills. For busy working couples, it s generally not possible to volunteer during work hours and it is equally difficult to contribute on a regular basis. This becomes even more challenging for families with children. At Hanover we have only one program available for those who would like to volunteer outside work hours which involves holding a barbeque for residents at our crisis centre at Southbank. This program is valuable both as an opportunity for residents to socialise but also to help dispel some of the myths around homelessness held by the broader community. Volunteers can contribute significantly to supporting the more disadvantaged members of our community. However, there is little recognition particularly from Government of the costs of providing a volunteer program both in terms of coordination and direct

6 costs (e.g. training and materials). It could be argued that volunteers help to free up other resources and that some of these resources could be applied to the program itself, and in some cases this is true. However, volunteer programs within community organisations are generally used to complement the services funded by government. As such they are generally not actually freeing up resources but using the good will of existing staff to support them. The costs of managing volunteer programs are increasing. The increasing regulation of volunteering through things like the national standards and the increasing levels of government regulation is making it more costly for organisations to effectively manage a volunteer program. A recent discussion in our Project Steering Committee highlighted this issue with the laws around privacy adding complexities in sharing information when referring clients to volunteer opportunities in other organisations. In addition, the increased focus on partnerships in volunteering involves increased time spent on building these partnerships. Further, the increasingly rigorous standards developed within the sector, and some organisations applying criminal record checks unilaterally, without applying discretion as to the particular criminal charges, is exacerbating the social exclusion of those who fail to meet these standards. The costs of volunteering for the individual are also increasing, particularly in terms of travel. This makes volunteering an unattainable opportunity for some members of the community. Corporate volunteering is on the increase as companies embrace the concept of social responsibility. However, often these programs are focused on once off opportunities, organised at short notice and involve a significant amount of effort to organise with little return to the volunteer organisation. While there is significant potential in corporate volunteering, some work needs to be done in consultation between the volunteer service sector and corporate organisations about how to ensure the greatest benefit for all involved. There are few volunteer opportunities that can help support volunteers to develop skills to transfer to paid employment. Volunteering can be a useful way for someone who is struggling to find paid employment to develop their skills. One of the most

7 popular areas to volunteer in is in administration, to develop office skills that can then be transferred. The challenge is that most community based organisations have few volunteer opportunities in these areas generally because they don t have the administrative staff capacity to provide the supervision and support required. The advent of Volunteer Resource Centres (VRCs) makes it easier for people to identify volunteer opportunities. However, they also have significant limitations they are generally funded by local governments and are strongest in areas where people are the least marginalised; their local area focus creates a mismatch with volunteer opportunities that operate across local government boundaries; they do not have deductible gift recipient status which makes it impossible for them to attract philanthropic funds; and the intensive requirements of volunteer matching processes are generally not recognised. We also see missed opportunities that equally provide us with additional challenges: The retirement of the baby boomer generation could be seen as an opportunity to increase the level of volunteering in the community. An existing and relatively untapped volunteer resource are those groups who are more marginalised in our community. New migrants often use volunteering opportunities to develop language skills and it would be wonderful for community organisations to have the capacity to support them in this process through volunteering opportunities complemented by training. Similarly, the key area Hanover is currently focusing on in our volunteer program is an opportunity for people experiencing homelessness to volunteer. The challenge is that it often requires a significantly higher level of support from the volunteer organisation to enable these groups to volunteer. The benefits to the individual and the broader community however, both in terms of the contribution as volunteers but also as a pathway into paid employment, are immense. 5 Role of Government What part does your organisation think the three layers of government should play in supporting communities to meet these challenges and Funding volunteer coordination We cannot stress enough the importance of having a recurrent funding pool that could be used to support the enormous contribution volunteers make to delivering programs for the more marginalised members of our community. In particularly the State Government needs

8 opportunities? to consider funding of volunteer coordinators and providing resources for training and support for volunteers. Subsidising transport costs Transport costs are rapidly increasing and are likely to prove a significant barrier to people participating in volunteering. One option for government is to provide a special transport concession card to volunteers to reduce this cost. This could potentially be linked to the working with children check process to reduce any red tape. Supporting education and training linked to volunteering State Government could also assist by supporting the development of training programs specifically for volunteers who use volunteering as a way of developing their skills and building a record of experience which they can then use to gain paid employment. Review of local government support for Volunteer Resource Centres Local government funding of volunteer resource centres is patchy and generally weaker in areas of higher disadvantage. VRCs have significant potential to link people into volunteer opportunities but their current performance reflects their patchy funding. A review of these centres and their funding to identify ways in which to increase their effectiveness would be highly beneficial in an environment where agencies are increasingly needing to partner in order to develop and support volunteer opportunities and programs.