Home Visiting Support Volunteer

Age UK West Sussex, Brighton and Hove enable older people to Love Later Life. Our aims are to promote the wellbeing of all older people; to make later life a fulfilling and enjoyable experience and to enable people to flourish.

The service

You will be supporting older people through weekly visits to their home. The role involves providing short term practical support to vulnerable adults including those recently discharged from hospital.

“Helping people after a hospital discharge is a great example where volunteers can have a big impact. Leaving hospital can feel really worrying to older people who live alone. To have someone making the transition a bit easier by offering reassurance, company and practical support can make all the difference. If you might be interested in this role, or exploring other options, then please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.” Richard Harris, Volunteer Manager.

Key responsibilities

• Support can include low level support such as basic shopping, light snacks, escort the client to hospital and /or GP appointments.
• Support with companionship and support to rebuild confidence to regain or develop independence.
• Some clients may require additional support for tasks such as digital inclusion which volunteers can be trained to provide.

Responsible to: Community Support Co-ordinator
Based at: Across the whole of West Sussex

Role requirements

No qualifications are needed. However, you will need to have:

• excellent listening and communication skills.
• good IT skills are favourable.
• patience and sensitivity are essential.
• the ability to work confidently on own initiative and know when to seek help and support.
• the role requires committed and reliable volunteers, a minimum of approximately two hours per week. Visits are carried out to meet clients’ needs and can be between 10-8pm during the week and over the weekend.
• willingness to undergo a DBS check
• an understanding of the needs of older people
• a kind, empathic and patient nature
• an understanding of the need to observe confidentiality in informal settings

How will we support you

You will be provided with induction training and be shown how to work to guidelines to be sure you are confident and able to carry out your volunteer role. Induction training will cover an introduction to Age UK West Sussex Brighton & Hove and its’ services, policies and procedures. All relevant training will be free to volunteers. You will receive on-going support and training to carry out your role effectively and be able to enjoy doing so with confidence.

What will you get out of volunteering for Age UK West Sussex, Brighton & Hove

Being part of an amazing team, meeting others, having fun and a sense of fulfilment. If you are looking for a job we can give you some experience whether you have worked in this setting before or not. We will train you so you will gain knowledge of working in a charity sector and why it has a vital role to play in the local community. This will help you in your search for a job and we can also give you a written reference.