Our volunteers add heaps of quality to the care we bestow our service users and their families, friends, and carers. They provide a listening ear to people on our wards, support the running of one-to-one and group activities, share the joy of therapy pets, connect with those we serve in our communities. They volunteer with us and our partner organisations to tackle loneliness and social isolation, and to promote community participation and a zest for life.
Our volunteering opportunities are open to all members of the public, service users and carers. We especially welcome applications from anyone over the age of 18 with lived experience of mental health difficulties or those caring for someone with a mental illness.
We are looking for volunteers who have skills that complement what clinical staff do, so if you have a talent or interest in gardening, art, design, blogging / writing, music, mechanics, hairdressing, fashion, etc. please think about becoming an Activity Volunteer with us. You may have exactly the skills we need!
There is much to gain from registering a volunteer:
After you complete your recruitment and training process, we expect you to stay in your volunteering role for at least 60 hours over six months (this works out to about 10 hours per month, or around three hours per week).
We have learned from our experience that volunteering roles that last for this duration will help you gain new skills, boost your confidence, and get valuable hands-on experience, as well as enhance the benefits to the people who use our services.
No, we will pay back travel expenses based on actual receipts and you can claim up to the pay as you go cap (Transport for London's cap price) on daily anytime fares for Zones 1-6.
We will also offer a discounted lunch if you volunteer for more than six hours consecutively and over the lunch period.
Many of our volunteering roles require working with vulnerable people, so you will have to go through a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, complete an Occupational Health assessment, and give references for the past three years as part of the recruitment process.
You will also need to complete relevant and certified training, both e-learning and face to face before starting your placement, to make sure you have the necessary knowledge and skills to keepyourself, your colleagues, and the people you will be helping safe.