Voluntary Action South West Surrey

 SURREY APPROPRIATE ADULT VOLUNTEER SCHEME

Are you looking for a challenge?  Do you have some spare time?  Do you want to give something back to your community?  Is justice important to you and do you like to see fair play?

If your answer is ‘yes’ to any of the above you may want to become an Appropriate Adult.

The Appropriate Adult Service offers support to vulnerable adults and young people who find themselves detained in Police custody. Being an Appropriate Adult is a challenging, fulfilling and rewarding role.  The service SAAVS offer is 24 hour 365 days per year and each volunteer owns a regular weekly slot of between 6 and 8 hours.

What will be expected of me?

You don’t need previous knowledge of legal procedures or social work. The role of the Appropriate Adult is not to provide legal advice but to offer impartial support and be a friendly face in the absence of a family member or carer to people who may be feeling frightened, bewildered, and confused in an unfamiliar situation.  As an Appropriate Adult you’ll join our team of volunteers and will be on call at times to suit you. You will be available to answer a call to custody in a swift and professional manner and have access to reliable transport.  You will offer vital support to those who need it when they need it most.

What sort of person becomes an Appropriate Adult?

All sorts of people become Appropriate Adults and bring different skills to the team. Two things they all have in common is an excellent ability to communicate and a willingness to donate their free time to SAAVS. 

Our introductory two-day training sessions for new volunteers are planned for:

14^th and 21^st March 2020

20^th and 27^th June 2020

3^rd and 10^th October 2020