Volunteer role description

Practical support volunteer

Organisation

Jami is a mental health charity that enriches and saves lives impacted by mental illness in the Jewish community.

Since the start of the pandemic, demand for our services has grown exponentially. In 2021 we undertook a thorough review of the needs of the community, to develop a new strategy that will secure the Jewish community’s mental health provision. The new strategy sets out a huge agenda for change in scale and provision, which will be developed over the next five years while we continue to run our diverse set of highly professional mental health services:

·       Advice and advocacy

·       Treatment and support

·       Education and campaigning

Jami currently supports over 1,400 individuals, delivering almost 50,000 separate service interactions each year, and reaches thousands more people through education, seminars, work in schools and other organisations. Through our social enterprise community café, Head Room, we raise mental health awareness while delivering mental health support on the high street.

Role Purpose

Sometimes when we are experiencing problems with our mental health, some of the everyday tasks can feel daunting and overwhelming.

We often receive requests from our clients for practical support, and so we are now looking for volunteers who can support our clients with specific practical tasks.

This could be anything from building flatpack furniture, to support with attending medical appointments, and could be on a one-off basis, or more ongoing depending on the needs of the clients.

The type and nature of these tasks do vary, and so a flexible approach is key.

Responsibilities and tasks

Support with:

• Attending medical appointments
• Basic DIY, for example building flat pack furniture
• Going on new and unfamiliar journeys, for example to Headroom café or one of our hubs
• Attending synagogue / religious events
• Gentle exercise, for example walking in a park
• Opening post
• Going shopping

The person

For this role you will need to:

• Have an interest in and awareness of mental health
• Have an interest and awareness of Jewish faith and culture
• Have strong listening and communication skills
• Be reliable, trustworthy, and honest
• Have a caring and non-judgemental approach
• Be flexible and task orientated

We can offer you

·       Full and ongoing training

·       Flexible days and hours

·       Ongoing support, reviews, and supervision

·       Networking and social events

What we need

·       DBS check

·       Acceptable references

We welcome applications from Jewish and non-Jewish volunteers and from across the full spectrum of the community.

How to apply

To apply for the role, please email Sophie.chappell@jamiuk.org