Doncaster homeless organisation appeal for volunteers

A Doncaster homeless organisation that helps get people off the streets and into supported accommodation is appealing for volunteers.

People are being recruited by Riverside Care and Support to help transform lives and end homelessness.

Riverside is calling for volunteers to help its street outreach teams, which work with people sleeping rough and help put a roof over their heads.

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The organisation runs two supported accommodation centres, Wharf House and Open House Plus, as well as a community tenancy support service offering housing-related advice for people in their own homes.

Michael Phillips, Riverside volunteering manager, said: “If you’re the kind of person who likes to meet new people and make new friends, who knows that experience of supporting others will look great on a CV, who understands that developing skills in communication makes you more employable and wants to go home knowing you have made have helped make a difference in someone else’s life, then volunteering with us is for you.”

Riverside is hoping residents who have previously been homeless and turned their lives around may be among those offering up their services.

Paul, who did not want to be identified with his full name, was homeless for a time and had a gambling addiction.

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He said he turned his life around when he began volunteering with Riverside.

He had previously faced barriers to securing a job because of his offending background, but he had the experience required to become a peer mentor to support others who had experienced homelessness to get their lives back on track.

A spokesman said: “As someone who has experienced life on the street, volunteers will already be aware that the right person helping at the right time can save a life.

However, it’s not just people with experience of homelessness that Riverside is looking to recruit – people from all walks of life who want to step up to volunteering are sought after by the housing provider.

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Amongst the services offered is Riverside’s No Second Night Out, or NSNO, outreach programme to help get entrenched rough sleepers off the streets of Doncaster.

The service is part of the national NSNO initiative which aims to ensure that anyone new to sleeping on the streets spends no longer than one night sleeping rough.

Riverside is also recruiting a number of Peer Mentor volunteers.

Peer Mentors will work with Riverside’s former homeless customers to achieve their goals through attending scheduled appointments and acing as a role model through sharing past experiences and knowledge to help people transform their lives.

To find out more about Riverside’s volunteering vacancies contact Zahra Shah on 07989 301503.

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