The role involves sharing your own experiences of living with Borderline Personality Disorder with groups of participants and helping to facilitate training workshops. You will need good communication skills, lived experience of BPD , and be willing to share personal experiences with people from a variety of different backgrounds. A strong sense of commitment and willingness to travel throughout the Lothians are also important. CAPS /LEARN will provide training and mentoring for this role.

We recruit, train and match local volunteers with vulnerable adults to provide invaluable support in times of need. Short-term advocates may be involved in:- Listening to someone in need and trying to understand the challenges they face; their point of view and finding out what makes them feel good and valued. Understanding their situation and what may be stopping them from getting what they want. Offering support to tell other people what they want or introducing them to others who may be able to help. Helping someone to know what choices they have and what the consequences of these choices might be. Enabling a person to become more independent and have more control over their life. Short-term advocates will gain experience of a variety of situations as well as an understanding of services that are available to vulnerable adults in West Fife.

This role involves using your own lived experiences of Personality Disorder in a positive way to raise awareness and campaign for change. The aim of the project is for people who have been given a diagnosis of a personality disorder or had experiences that they feel fit with a personality disorder diagnosis to come together, have a collective voice and create change.The group decides what it wants to do (it is experience-led) and has a CAPS staff member to enable/facilitate its decisions Individuals can get involved in a way which suits them. Activities and achievements of the group so far have included: developing and delivering experience led training; creating films based around experiences of living with a Personality Disorder; organising various awareness events , creating leaflets and resource packs based on peoples’ lived experience, responding to and creating consultations and attending and delivering presentations at conferences. (Collective advocacy is where a group of people who are all facing a common problem and have had similar experiences get together to work on specific issues and have their voices heard. The group as a whole may campaign on an issue that affects them. A collective voice can be stronger than that of an individual, as groups are more difficult to ignore.)

CAPS are looking for a friendly and approachable individual to provide information on Advocacy Services in the Lothians. You will help others by signposting them to appropraite services and explain how Independent Advocacy might help. You will be offered the opportunity to promote CAPS Independent advocacy at events throughout the Lothians. You will help to set up and man promotional stalls. To monitor leaflets /resources and inform the volunteer coordinator when resources need to be replaced. CAPS also have a stall at the Information station Walpole Hall. The Information Station is a one stop shop acting as a source of support, information and sign posting. CAPS provides an Information Stall at this weekly event and will provide training and guidance for volunteers.

Working as part of a collective advocacy team to raise awareness and speak about own experiences of eating disorders. The role involves working with the Collective advocacy development worker to show a collective advoacy film and facilitate a group discussion in various community settings throughout the Lothians including: schools , universities , health etc. As all of the workshops take place during the day the volunteer would need to be available during the day. The role requires someone who is able to relate to other young people and is willing to share personal lived experience of an eating disorder of any kind , in order to educate and raise awareness around eating disorders amongst other young people ; willingness to talk about and share experiences of eating disorders with other young people in group situations in various community settings including : schools , universities ,public events etc.

STAND International is looking for volunteers aged 16 to 65 years who have experienced social or economic disadvantage, to travel overseas to volunteer in 2020. This could be participating in working at a camp for children and adults with disabilities. Many of these children and young adults come from difficult backgrounds, including children from families affected by HIV, alcoholism and drug abuse. Additionally, volunteers will be participating in renovating and building work may include digging foundations, mixing cement, building walls, constructing a roof, plastering or putting the finishing coat of paint on the completed building. The work is quite challenging as buildings are made and renovated using traditional methods and locally sourced materials. The construction materials & techniques are also simple to master and are ideal for sites with limited facilities. Everything is done by hand in impoverished communities to enable and improve their living and learning environment which allows volunteers to be immersed in the host community and work with the locals to ensure these projects get completed and match the needs of the people they're benefiting. Six trips are planned for 2020, 2 trips to Belarus and 4 to Romania. The age range of volunteers for Belarus is from 16- 28 years and Romania is from 16 to 65 years old allowing for a greater number of people to participate. ROMANIA trips - March, May, August and October 2020 BELARUS trips – July & September 2020 As well as short-term volunteer opportunities we have places available for mentors. Mentors provide support and assistance to volunteers while they take on the challenge of volunteering abroad as well as additional support for 3 months upon return to Scotland enabling volunteers to best utilise the experience gained. Mentor costs are covered although there is some expectation of securing some matched funding. There is an option for those who perhaps did not feel that they had the skills or experience to become mentors to join the team as a trainee mentor.

Independent Custody Visitors are members of the local community who volunteer their time to visit police stations to check on the welfare of detainees held in custody. The visitors will speak to the people in custody and check that they are being treated fairly and within the law, e.g. they have been offered food and drink, are warm, have been offered access to a lawyer, etc. Visitors are paired up and go together to carry out visits. The visits are arranged between the two volunteers and we ask that they are conducted on different days and at different times throughout the week. ICVS is a statutory function of the Scottish Police Authority.

>Who we are: The African Council is an independent voluntary organisation with a mission to promote the social and economic welfare of African People. We celebrate the best in African culture(s), history and values. We promote the attainment of education and life skills especially among Africans. We also advance active citizenship among Africans through engagement in civic and political process, institutions and leadership. >Some of our projects: 1. Employment/Enterprise coaching events • The event seeks to provide coaching and empowerment for Africans through education, guidance and support, to increase Africans involvement in employment, enterprise and entrepreneurship opportunities. 2. Civic and Political structures coaching events • The event seeks to provide coaching that encourages and provides guidance to Africans, to increase involvement and participation of Africans in civic and political life in Scotland, 3. Engagement events • Our engagement events seek to understand the challenges and barriers that Africans face in participating in all areas of Scottish life and ways to mitigate these challenges. >Volunteering Opportunities: Volunteers are vital for delivering the African Council's projects and services. We are looking for volunteers to join our team and we currently have volunteering opportunities available in the following areas: 1. Website Support 2. Corporate Communications 3. Social Media Management 4. Legal 5. Digital marketing and advertising 6. Event planning, support and management 7. Research 8. Administration 9. Help desk >Benefits of volunteering with the African Council include: 1. Opportunities to learn new skills 2. Employability training 3. Meet new people 4. Networking opportunities 5. Flexible working times 6. Develop your skills and talent and turn it to something employers will be excited about 7. Boost your CV with relevant work experience\n8. Fun hangouts, as well as, 9. Satisfaction of being a part of team that will make a significant difference in Scotland Fantastic opportunities to help at a very exciting time in the development of the African Council. All help is greatly appreciated. For more information please contact Ca-ananay Maduka, Volunteer Coordinator at E Mail: info@africancouncil.org.uk or Tel.: 01224 579218.

Citizen Advocates for the Young People Project come from all walks of life, with a shared commitment to help vulnerable young adults aged between 16 and 25, in communities across West Fife. Citizen Advocates provide invaluable support and friendship through: Listening to someone in need and trying to understand the challenges they face; their point of view and finding out what makes them feel good and valued. Understanding their situation and what may be stopping them from getting what they want. Offering support to tell other people what they want or introducing them to others who may be able to help. Helping someone to know what choices they have and what the consequences of these choices might be. Enabling a person to become more independent and have more control over their life. Encourage hobbies and interests so that mutually enjoyed activities can be shared.

Citizen Advocates are people who come from all walks of life with a shared commitment to help vulnerable adults in communities across West Fife. Citizen Advocates provide invaluable support and friendship through:- Listening to someone in need and trying to understand the challenges they face; their point of view and finding out what makes them feel good and valued. Understanding their situation and what may be stopping them from getting what they want. Offering support to tell other people what they want or introducing them to others who may be able to help. Helping someone to know what choices they have and what the consequences of these choices might be. Enabling a person to become more independent and have more control over their life. Citizen Advocates spend time with a vulnerable adult socially in order to gain a trusting friendship which enables them to provide invaluable support at times of need.