Many of the people who engage with Simon Community Scotland’s services experience feelings of loneliness, isolation and boredom which can affect their health and quality of life dramatically. This role offers a unique opportunity to be part of our award-winning team in a supportive environment. The service offered by our Community Inclusion Volunteers gives the opportunity for the people we support to engage with a positive, friendly and non-judgemental person on a regular basis; to encourage and motivate them to get involved with activities, access community resources and be supported on a pathway out of homelessness and into employment and/or independent living, as well as having a listening ear. This role involves being a positive part of peoples journeys towards independence. The idea is to assist with improving community integration, resilience, independence and well-being. It’s about acceptance and choice, not about creating dependence. It’s about offering positive and regular contact and easing loneliness. This role aims to provide support to the staff teams in our accommodation and housing focused services by providing the people we support with opportunities to build confidence and self-worth, skills and experience. Specific tasks: Helping to reduce social isolation for the people we support by being present and engaging in the place they call home. Support us by participating in group activities that will assist staff within SCS services and help the people we work with to identify personal strengths, potential and inner resources. Demonstrating life skills to people receiving ongoing support or whose support could be heading towards a close e.g. encouraging them to cook a meal or bake, leading by example. Raising awareness of community services available and, if appropriate and with agreement from the staff team, assisting people to access these services. Participate in all necessary training and guidance and be willing and able to do so. We're currently looking for weekday shifts only. We have six accommodation services looking for Community Inclusion volunteers – two men only in North Lanarkshire, one men only in the east end of Glasgow, two women only in the south side of Glasgow and one women only in Edinburgh. We cannot take male volunteers for the women only services.

In 2020 Scotland became the first country in the world to offer people free period products. We work with our partners Glasgow City Council to deliver this groundbreaking Act in the city. Being excluded from basic sanitary and hygiene essentials contributes to the poor mental health and well-being experience of many people. We recognised this, so in 2017 our Period Friendly Project was born and offers free sanitary products to people who are experiencing homelessness. The Project has expanded over the past five years and we now have a presence in over 150 venues around Glasgow city, where people can collect Packs of sanitary towels and tampons. We have period points all across the city, and at the moment are particularly looking for volunteers to cover venues in postcode areas G20, G22 and G45. Everyone who menstruates deserves access to sanitary products and Period Friendly volunteers help people have a ‘period of dignity’ every month. Specific tasks: - Creating Period Packs to distribute to public buildings in Glasgow - Delivering Period Packs to assigned venues in the city - Create a warm line of communication with staff at your venues and be easy to contact when their stock needs to be replenished - Raising awareness of the project in your local community and helping fundraise and collect donations of other items such as underwear and wet wipes. Support and Training: - A comprehensive induction is provided for this role - In-role training is available – we value our volunteers and want to ensure you are equipped with the skills you need to fulfil your role What’s in it for me? For as little as six hours per month, you have the chance to meet new people and be part of an amazing team who are passionate about what they do. Everything we do is about and for people; the people we support, our staff, partners and everyone affected by homelessness. Each individual involved brings their skills and creativity to our work. This is a chance for you to make a real difference to the most vulnerable people within your community and pick up essential skills that are valuable to employers. Our Expectation: We need people who care about our client group, are enthusiastic and able to respond flexibly to a role that can sometimes be challenging but brings great rewards and satisfaction. We need you to be fully committed to Simon Community Scotland’s Mission and Core Values and adhere to our policies/procedures and Code of Practice. If you are interested please click the ‘apply’ button below (available when logged in and registered). You will then be contacted by email or phone call. If you have not heard back after 5 working days, the first step is to contact the organization with the contact details provided. You could also check your junk/spam folder on your emails just in case the response is there. If that doesn’t work out then please feel free to contact Volunteer Glasgow at info@volunteerglasgow.org