Kinship carers are raising over 200,000 relative’s or friend’s children in the UK, and many are struggling alone without the support and information they need. Kinship carers often just need to ‘offload’ and talk to someone who knows the issues and difficulties they might be facing.
Someone Like Me is a telephone peer support service for kinship carers who have requested support on a one-to-one basis.
As a current or former kinship carer – you are in the best position to help by offering emotional support to kinship carers who need a listening ear from someone who understand what they are going through and, where appropriate, reflecting back on your own personal experience.
If you have great listening skills, and enjoy talking to others, this is a brilliant way to volunteer with Kinship.
Location and requirements:
- You will be home-based, anywhere in England and Wales
- You will also need access to a phone, a computer with the internet an email account, and a confidential space from which to work
- All calls are routed through Kinship’s telephone system, with coded logins so your number will not be visible and there will be no cost to you
Time commitment:
- Regular commitment of a minimum of 2-3 hours per week, Monday Friday, at a time that suits you
- We ask for a minimum commitment of one year whilst recognising that people’s circumstances may change.
Minimum age: 18
What will you be doing?
- You will be matched with kinship carers who have requested emotional support and:
- Calling your assigned kinship carers and providing emotional and moral support through supportive listening and empathy
- Reflecting on, and sharing your own experiences where appropriate and if it is helpful to the kinship carer
- Signposting kinship carers needing advice to our Advice Service, or other information and support services in their local area
- Completing a short online form call for each contact to measure impact and help us ensure we’re supporting kinship carers
- Working within the boundaries of the charity’s confidentiality and data protection policies
Is this role right for you?
We need current or former kinship carers who are dedicated and want to proactively make a difference to the lives of other kinship carers. We’re looking for people with the following skills and qualities:
- An empathetic and friendly telephone manner
- Able to build a rapport with people and put people at ease
- Warmth, understanding, sensitivity and a willingness to listen
- Ability to be supportive and non-judgemental
- An ability to sensitively reflect on and share your experiences in a way that supports and empowers other kinship carers, without giving advice
- Ability to communicate clearly over the phone
- An understanding of the need for confidentiality
- An understanding of the importance of completing our contact forms to demonstrate impact and help develop the service
What will you gain from the role?
- Induction and Training to equip you with the skills and confidence to carry out the role
- Ongoing support and supervision from our Volunteer Manager
- Options to become part of Volunteer forums, such as WhatsApp and Facebook groups
- Reimbursement for reasonable out of pocket expenses (where appropriate, on production of a receipt)
- Membership to our Kinship Community network with opportunities to attend events and special kinship care events
- A sense that you’re able to help someone and make them feel less lonely and isolated
A Kinship Someone Like Me volunteer shares their experience:
“In some small way I may be able to fill a gap or make an impact on the everyday wellbeing of a carer reaching out for help.
I don’t know all the answers and can’t hope to resolve the daily challenges that arise in kinship life, but I hope that by being available to listen I may help someone feel less alone, gain strength and take a step closer to feeling in control of their lives.”
What are the benefits of volunteering with us?
- The opportunity to volunteer from home at a time that suits you
- The opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge
- The opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge
- The satisfaction of knowing that you are making a difference to the lives of kinship carers
- The chance to feel connected with other kinship carers feeling and working towards a common goal
- Opportunities to become involved in further developing our service
Before you start:
- Kinship will ask you to complete an application form and provide the names of two people who have known you for at least two years who can offer a reference for you. This could be a colleague or friend, but not a family member
- To support our ‘safer recruitment’, we ask all our peer support volunteers to undertake an Enhanced DBS check
- You will be required to attend and complete the induction training sessions
- You’ll have conversations with our Volunteer Manager throughout the process to make sure the volunteer role is a good fit for you and for the charity
If you have any questions or would like further information about the role, please contact the Volunteer Manager by email: volunteer@kinship.org.uk
If you are interested in becoming a Someone Like Me or Online Chat volunteer please complete our Expression of Interest form.
