Guest Welfare Volunteer

About Crisis at Christmas

Christmas can be very challenging, but particularly for people who do not have a place that they can call home. We mobilise a huge volunteer effort to bring warmth, companionship, and vital services to people at one of the hardest times of the year. We help people take their first steps out of homelessness, offering Crisis’ year-round support and training to help them leave homelessness behind for good.

About the role

Guest welfare volunteers will support and assist the Guest Welfare Coordinators to identify and support the more vulnerable guests. You will have more time to sit and talk with guests to ensure that guests are aware of and accessing services as needed, accompanying them where necessary. You will also assist the Guest Welfare Coordinator in keeping records for guests and feeding into shift handovers.

Skills and experience we are looking for

We are looking for: 

• Qualified Counsellors/Psychotherapists. Must be level 4 diploma or above and BACP (or equivalent) registered. 
• Mental Health Professionals. This includes social workers, NHS workers etc.  Must have experience of working in an adult context. 
• Others with direct experience of working in the homelessness sector or with vulnerable adults 
• Ideally you will have some experience of working or volunteering within the homelessness sector, have good interpersonal skills and the ability to interact with vulnerable adults. You should also have experience of dealing with difficult situations and managing guests’ (clients) expectations. 

Additional info

• During Christmas week we ask our guest welfare to commit to a minimum of two shifts, to ensure consistency in supporting our guests. We also offer training relevant to this role so that you can be properly prepared for Crisis at Christmas.  
• We strive to ensure that our services are welcoming, remain relevant and are fully accessible to everyone that we help and support. We are particularly welcoming of volunteers from diverse and other marginalised communities, as this helps us ensure the best experience for those that we are here to help. People who have lived experience of homelessness are also particularly welcome to apply. 
• This role requires a Basic DBS check. If you hold a DBS certificate issued for Crisis in 2020, this will still be valid for your volunteering this year.