Looking for Mentors to meet with adults with Cystic Fibrosis regularly to build a trusting relationship and provide ongoing emotional support and encouragement. Adults living with this progressive and debilitating condition can face a variety of challenges that disadvantage them soically, financially and in the workplace. The relationship will help achieve a better quaility of life by braodening their horizons, improving their confidence abd increasing their independence.

To promote and lobby for equality acroos all areas of disability, raise awareness of group and increase membership to allow the voice of people with disabilities to inform decision that have an impact on their lives.

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.

As a Polish support work volunteer/ translator you will gain work experience in supporting Polish clients whom have been referred to our service. You will support the client to attend the service during their 4 week trial period, to help them feel more at ease and comfortable. You will be able to meet new people and support clients to engage in the activities within the premises. You will advocate on behalf of Polish speaking service users making sure staff and other clients understand their wishes. This will help the client to integrate into the service and improve their communication and language skills. In this role you may be requested to support English-speaking clients too.

*How can you help victims of crime? Victims of crime often feel a range of emotions such as an anxiety, confusion and anger. It is Victim Support Scotland’s role to provide victims with both emotional and practical support. *What would I be doing? You will work with staff to receive information to confirm service users’ needs You will contact service users to arrange support via telephone, face to face appointments and webchat You will provide support based on the service users’ needs and agree next steps at the end of each contact You will feedback and agree follow-up actions with staff on arrangements for support *What do I need for this role? Communication skills An ability to actively listen to service users and anyone affected by crime A non-judgemental approach to working with people from all sections of the community The capacity to learn about the criminal justice system and understand the service user’s journey An understanding of confidentiality Good time management skills Access to a car or ability to use public transport

How can you support witnesses to crime feel at ease in court? Appearing in court as a witness can be very stressful. It is Victim Support Scotland’s role to support witnesses during their court visits. How would you help? You will work with staff members prior to court starting Offer information about and explain court procedures to service users Discuss service users needs by telephone or face to face Help witnesses feel more confident by taking them on court familiarisation visits Support service users on the day of the trial in court or other locations as appropriate Liaise with court officials on behalf of service users Feedback and agree follow-up actions with staff members. What do I need? Effective communication skills To actively listen to service users and anyone affected by crime A non-judgemental approach to working with people from all sections of the community The capacity to learn about the criminal justice system and understand the service user’s journey An awareness of confidentiality obligations Effective time management skills What benefits would I get? All reasonable expenses paid The offer of a reference for future work. The knowledge that you are providing help to an organisation that helps others. The opportunity to grow your skills personally and professionally.

At AdvoCard our highly valued team of Volunteer Advocacy Workers deliver a vital 1:1 independent advocacy service to mental health service users living in the community in Edinburgh. Our volunteers come with a wide range of backgrounds, skills and experience. What they all share is a commitment to advocacy and a belief that mental health service users should have their voices heard and their rights respected. AdvoCard's trained volunteers work with service users to listen and explore options.

Aberdeen in Recovery (AiR) was granted Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) charitable status in March this year. We are now looking to find talented, passionate and skilled people to fill some vacant seats on our Board of Trustees to help us grow and develop our innovative and solution focused new charity. This is a unique opportunity to help lay the foundations to ensure AiR has a long-term future as a charity with solid processes in place to ensure it meets its mission of: “To be a bridge from ‘dependence’ to ‘independence’ for the individual seeking to recover from problematic substance use and addictive behaviours”. This is such an exciting and invigorating prospect for individuals to get involved and be participant in the tsunami of change which is now gaining momentum and being driven by “Experts by Experience” and the vibrant Lived Experienced Communities which are blossoming, not only locally but are now established as a national phenomena. Since its conception, AiR and its members have worked tirelessly to establish and build collaborative relationships with professional services and third sector support agencies. We have consistently driven the message that individuals who have personal lived/living experience of active substance use, including Family members who have been affected by the addictive behaviours of a loved one, and the Recovery Communities they represent have something valid, essential and extremely beneficial to bring to described Recovery Orientated Systems of Care (ROSC). We can provide existing services and clinical structural systems with resources, skills and capabilities that they, no matter how much effort, time and money they invest, will never be able to offer or provide. So, it gives the greatest of pleasure to see this is now recognised on the highest levels that “Recoverists” can productively contribute to the design, development and delivery of truly person-centred ROSC. This being evidenced by the vision, philosophy and content of the Scottish Governments “Rights, Respect and Recovery” Drug and Alcohol Strategy. We also believe it is reaffirmed by the recent success in being granted funding from the Government’s National Development Fund, with our principle partner Alcohol and Drugs Action (ADA), for our ‘Recovery Peer Pathway’ joint two-year project. This collaborative venture will build on three years of pilot work to further establish and build proactive and productive Developmental Pathways within ADA and their Volunteer network while in synergy with AiR membership for individuals who desire to initiate change in their behaviours and outlook as they progress on their recovery journeys within, and imperatively out-with, statutory and formal support services. We believe that the blue sky thinking behind this project categorically and emphatically fits with the expectations, outcomes and concepts of the above Government policy. So, if you have lived experience, or a stakeholder interest, and a passion for recovery and are willing to give of yourself that another may learn, you will not find a better opportunity to indulge your appetite than from within Aberdeen in Recovery. For more information please contact Dermot Craig, Recovery Community Development Manager at E Mail: dermot@aberdeeninrecovery.org or tel.: 01224 638342 / Mobile: 07751 213108.

Volunteer Community Researchers wanted to help improve the lives of people living with dementia in the community of North Stirling and being involved in an innovative community development project.

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.