This article comes as a result of contact with the Voluntary Sector and has given me sufficient concerns to produce an article to bring about a change in attitude and thoughts on a number of different aspects including a better multi-agency relationship approach.

These come in no particular order:

 

Are volunteer centres doing enough to reach out to socially excluded people?

 

No is the simple answer however let me elaborate further.

 

Volunteer Centres should play a more active role in our communities and engage with a more extensive range of people, all too often people who want to volunteer go to them to find opportunities if they do not go directly to the charities but never have I experienced volunteer centres identifying people and helping break down social barriers and needs to improve.

The groups of people identified below often for many reasons find themselves socially excluded for a period of time, some longer than others however if you actually find the time to meet with them, never give up on them ever perhaps they may have a passion that would benefit others even though the information they present may not be what you want to hear.

Unemployed People; Criminals; Youth; People with no references; Homeless; drug addicts; prostitutes & Mental Health Suffers.  These people exist in our society so please accept and enable them to make a difference to them and others.

The financial cost is actually very little with the small monthly inclusive cost for internet and phone however it is relationally that challenges their ability to the cost of the above people, some times I feel regarding certain people their behaviour is personal and cruel, until people complain a minority of the overall people who submit forms will be overlooked.

Should Volunteer Centres have better multi-agency relationships?

 

The simple answer is yes and perhaps these are some suggestions to attempt.

Volunteer centres should work in conjunction with the Prison Service to welcome people who are released into the community or from a sentence and encourage volunteer placements working with the probation service to help prevent re-offending. 

Should they have to wait until their rehabilitation period has ended then to get volunteering work which could be years down the line and in the interim may have committed further crimes, if all the correct agencies are working together and monitoring the individuals surely this can only benefit people.

It’s a tricky issue with the victims of crime they are then released into further contact with others, it’s a fine line to take and judgement call whether they are fit and able but we need to be aware that if they cannot get voluntary or paid work, don’t have enough to live on they will commit crimes against us so let us not be criminal towards them and be more gracious.

Volunteer centres should work with GP surgeries and community mental health teams to identify individuals who regardless of their illness or status should be encouraged to use volunteering as an aid with sufficient assistance as part of their therapy.  

Volunteer centres should work with Job Centre Plus as this day and age its all about your previous experience that will determine your future, if you have not had the best of starts or had a rough patch society kicks you in the teeth and together can break down barriers and create better understanding to then benefit the people to which they serve i.e. the charities.

Volunteer trials should be in operation like that of Job Centre Plus to enable a risk free volunteer placement without all the necessary checks in place, there is too much over vetting these days and discourages people from volunteering I feel anyway.

Do volunteer centre workers ever think how they would like to be treated if they had the circumstances the potential volunteer has when wanting to move forward?

 

When people come through the doors of CVS they should think what if I was facing these circumstances today what would I want others to do to help me and then turn it around and think I have the ability with my peers to change the quality of others lives for the best.  The people you turn away one day that could be you, hopefully it won’t and then how will you survive.

Perhaps I am the exception to the rule however I feel there are people like me that need to be given fair chances to have a good or reasonable quality of life and it is voluntary work that is the key. Never turn any volunteer away. Volunteers are people, people have emotions and your behaviour could have all sorts of adverse affects on how you behave towards them.

On the one hand you scrutinise others so they are not a risk or hurt others but sometimes it’s a fine line but in the same breathe you could be more harmful to them as they are to you or the charity because of their circumstances at present. Think about it.

 

Are volunteer centres and charities really charitable?

 

My personal feelings and experiences are that there are more screening and policy writing than actually helping those in need. Is over vetting people really healthy and if so for who?

On the one hand they may provide volunteers to help the homeless but if a homeless person wanted to do volunteering would they be given the same response as the person giving rather than received and want to give I wonder.

The very nature of charity and volunteering means that we are charitable and give back to others or perhaps its just who we want to give it to and to be honest I do not think we should be as picky or harsh towards the groups identified above, its great if you are sorted or normal but otherwise these people can make life harder for them than it already is.

Volunteering England should put measures in place to ask potential volunteers and charities about whether they could do without volunteer centres. Do they care?, Would they go out of their way to help people or just stick to the bare minimum in service levels?, What do users think of their approach?, Are trustees really reasonable and responsible when serious issues come about or are they ignored?

Are CVS’s values for money?

 

It depends who you ask but I would say there will be exceptions to the rule but overall due to my experience the answer sadly is I honestly don’t think they are.

 

CVS should do the same advertising for a specific role over a given period of time as with the charity concerned, come together to compare names and numbers and conclude whether they have done any better than the charity themselves. Who will be the first to publish the results on Volunteering England or other similar websites?

 

A charity has a paid volunteer co-ordinator and so does the volunteer centre so we are just duplicating the role where more money could be going towards worthy causes. Have any surveys been undertaken and if so what actions were taken as a result, if any?

 

The statistics would speak for themselves to see whether it is better to go direct to the charity or the volunteer centre. It would be great to see a person who is treated as socially excluded to see what responses they get from both.

 

CVS should have a volunteer co-ordinator which comprises of volunteers instead of paying volunteers to manage the recruitment and selection of volunteers. If effective systems were in place this would work and pay expenses with the intention of having 3 month volunteer placements for the above categories of people.

CVS should advertise roles as indeed the charity but should on websites such as www.do-it.org the information should be retained by the volunteer centre but automatically sent to the charity to save the individual concerned time where they are wondering who has the application and the stage it is at this should speed up the process and is fair to all. Value potential volunteers its hard to find them.

There should be a one week rule in place from applying for a role to giving information from the volunteer centre. Out of the next 100 people who apply could statistics be monitored and published with testimonials from all parties as to their effectiveness.

CVS should check that the roles advertised are current and up to date, often I have found they are not, if they have the best interest of the charity at heart they should work hand in hand and accuracy is imperative.

I have even offered to do this free of charge on a regular basis to create a volunteer experience but no offers to take me up on it to help hundreds of new volunteers in the future.

We should have regional volunteer centres i.e. East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire who have a small number of paid staff, merge existing centres into one and then assist people and the charities with combined and collective resources i.e. Too many chiefs and not Indians.

There are so many overheads that charities have in terms of staff and buildings, so instead of having lots of centres have all of Derbyshire in one building, Nottinghamshire the same etc if the other suggestion above would not work.

There should be one paid CEO and the rest volunteers who make up the CVS. Things could be managed whereby all resources are placed online; things are done by post, email and phone.

CVS should return peoples calls regardless of who they are and what they have done.

Should they have exclusion policies? There are always chances, opportunities to move forward despite crimes being committed, life is so precious please don’t limit people who are hurting further, don’t regret you could have helped and you did not.

Today 22nd March 2009 Jade Goody died of cancer at the age of 27 and it is a shame that the impact she could have had was limited by time, circumstances or behaviour that others could place upon their victims.  

What should volunteer centres policy is on references?

These days what people say about us will determine what we can & cannot do and more so says that we do not trust people when they sit before us that we need someone else to verify them. It should be we go back to a system where we go with our instincts instead of using everything under then sun to check people out, what other unnecessary checks will come next its getting quite ridiculous.

Instead of references why not have volunteer trials, if you like the person and feel you can work with them perhaps this is a way for people in the organisation to act as a referee instead of an outside person, there are guidelines and can verify many characteristics of a person.

What if someone misinterprets or does not see the reference in its true context and a volunteer co-ordinator costs that person making a difference to themselves and others?

We cannot be grateful that people want to volunteer their time for free but people have motives to commit fraud, gain access to children, if these individuals want to do things it does not matter what checks are done, they are clever and will get round them regardless of how many things we put in place to prevent it.

Enhanced CRB’s be done as statutory minimum and only references required if coming into contact with children and no other people? To an extent we are all vulnerable to some degree or another but some charities hurt others but get away with it so are CRB’s really effective.

Basic checks should be done but to maximise volunteers in the UK, if people have a record and are deemed to be unsuitable then they should refer it to the local safeguarding board for a second opinion and show it to the potential volunteer under freedom of information.  

If you reject a person based on references or any other aspect of volunteering I feel you are duty bound to receive a formal response as to the reasons its only proper and right, you would not like it if you ignore people so why do it to others.

Mental Health Issues

There are times I feel it is acceptable to turn away people who are not in the best frame of mind with a formal written explanation inclusive of whether the charity feels this breaches any mental health legislation.

However the charity needs to ask itself if it has made any reasonable adjustments inclusive of a mentor, cooling off period or working with statutory authorities before one rejects a volunteer at that point in time, this is something that should be looked into before turning people away.

It would be interesting to have a survey done by Volunteering England to see whether charities or volunteer centres would turn people away or include them in a volunteer placement on the grounds they are aware of their illness and in what context in the organisation.

There are consequences for being ill and sometimes people may not always work or have a social life during that period as I have found easier therefore if people do not know people it should be discouraged to be so harsh against them in the vetting stages. 

Giving people chances after an illness volunteering could benefit everyone and give hope to those who want to turn their lives around, get to know people and hopefully could be the very thing they are searching for to have positive stepping stones to other things.

Charities are the key to those who have mental health to give life not reduce the quality of life.

Questions

Do you agree that someone with depression should be discriminated and not allowed to volunteer?

Do you agree when someone is off work and ill it is right to say they are not suitable to volunteer indefinite?

Do you agree when someone puts a complaint in to the CVS it is acceptable to ignore the complainant i.e. CEO and Trustees?

Do volunteer centres believe that for me and others it is acceptable to not communicate with your customers, forward applications on to charities and help them because of someone’s circumstances? Poor customer service should result in dismissal?

Should Volunteering England have forums on their website to publish experiences and feedback?

Should The Charity Commission with Volunteering England have a free arbitration service for the public should problems occur with a volunteer centre or charity themselves?

Should volunteer and charities have period that if they are not successful now there would be a date set in 3 months cooling off period to review the application and formally let the candidate know?

The above issues may cause some debate, will need to be looked into further and each point could be elaborated with statistics, personal experiences and I know for certain the way in which certain people have behaved towards me feeling at times very vulnerable there are not enough safeguards in place or support mechanisms to enable people such as me to volunteer my time to benefit the place to which I would belong for a period of time.

Volunteering will significantly improve my outlook and quality of life if people will give me a chance. How long will it take until my next assignment is debatable but for now thank you for reading this piece?