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Why we need your help:
Bereavement service volunteers help support bereaved adults from the five London boroughs we serve (Croydon, Bromley, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark), after the death of a relative or friend who was cared for by, or at St Christopher’s. In addition, they also help support bereaved adults who live or have a GP in the Boroughs of Bromley or Lewisham but have not had care from St Christopher’s.

*This is a skilled role, but we encourage applications from prospective volunteers with active listening abilities honed by life experience as well as those in the process of formally developing counselling skills through accredited qualifications, people already qualified or with evidence of equivalent experience.

What this role can involve
• Providing 1-1 bereavement support to individuals either face to face, via telephone or online.
• Initially supporting two clients per week, increasing to three clients after six months.
• Maintaining accurate records – submitting written contact notes electronically.
• Contacting the administration team with clear and accurate actions pertaining to the client.
• Attending 1.5 hours of group supervision twice a month online.
• Helping support events for the bereaved and/or bereavement groups
What you can gain from this role
• Being a valued member of an enthusiastic team, meeting new people and get more involved in your local community
• In-house online clinical supervision, twice monthly by a qualified clinical supervisor
• Using and developing your skills, and enhancing your CV if that is important to you
• A reference for future work or volunteering
• Knowing you are helping dying people in your local community to have access to care and support, as and when they need it.

Training and support provided
Bereavement Service Volunteer training is scheduled to take place over four days; an example schedule is below:
You must be able to attend all four days training:

Day 1 – via Zoom Thursday 19th February 9.30am-4.30pm
Day 2 – via Zoom Friday 20th February 9.30am-4.30pm
Day 3 – via Zoom Monday 23rd February 9.30am-4.30pm
Day 4 – at Sydenham site (CARE) Thursday 26th February 9.30am-4.30pm

• Twice-monthly supervision and regular ongoing training sessions
• Option to attend the organisational staff and volunteer induction
• A volunteer guide – everything you need to know about volunteering at St Christopher’s
• Support from the Volunteering team, including weekly e-newsletter and updates and training via the My Impact app (available on Google Play and the Apple App Store)

Anything else you need to know:
• The recruitment process is:
o Applying electronically for the role, completing the application form
o Selection for interview
o Selection to go forward for training
o Suitability for the role will be confirmed during training with a six-monthly review followed by annual reviews.
• This role requires pre-volunteering checks, which include taking up two references and a DBS check, but having a criminal conviction will not necessarily prevent you from volunteering with us – each situation is assessed on an individual basis
• At St Christopher’s, we believe that no volunteer should be out of pocket because of their volunteering, so the reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred whilst volunteering will help ensure volunteering is accessible to all.

Commitment to volunteering:
Signing up to be a volunteer with St Christopher’s is a big commitment and can require a lot of training and support from the organisation. Given the nature of this role, it is asked that you would be ideally able to volunteer in this role for a minimum of six months, contacting the manager/supervisor if you cannot attend a planned shift with as much notice as possible.