Westminster Befriend a Family
The Borough of Westminster has many vulnerable/disadvantaged families with lone or young parents, on low incomes, facing mental or physical ill health, depression, language barriers or coping with disabilities. Many are refugees or asylum seekers, have been in temporary accommodation for several years or are struggling to establish a home and cope with huge changes in their lives.
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If you’d like to assist families who have arrived from Afghanistan and other countries, Westminster Befriend a Family (WBAF) is recruiting volunteers!  We offer mentoring to mothers with children aged 5+.  In a programme adapted for the specific needs of refugees, our volunteers provide regular social, emotional and practical support, for up to two hours a week, for three to six months.  We offer volunteers bespoke and comprehensive training to ensure they’re prepared for their role, with ongoing support and structured supervisions, as well as a range of tailored resources.  You’ll need to be able to commit to at least six months of support, and we require a DBS check, which we take care of, as well as two recent references.  We particularly welcome people with language skills (Pashtu, Dari, Farsi, Arabic and more!). If you’re interested in becoming a mentor, supporting families to settle in and access the support they need, please sign up on our website here.  If you have any questions, please get in touch with [email protected]

Benefits

- sense of satisfaction and reward when supporting vulnerable people
- being part of a large community of organisations supporting migrant families
- specialised mentoring training
- experience working with parents and families and opportunity to practice your people and supporting skills
- we will provide references for your work if you complete a period of mentoring with us

Time commitment

- 1 to 2 hours a week over 6 months
- volunteers are encouraged to attend regular group supervisions
What measures have you put in place to ensure volunteers’ safety during COVID-19?
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Categories

This organisation is one of our community partner organisations.

Like all volunteer recruiters we work with, they have signed up to our service standards, agreeing to abide by our policy on partnership working.

In addition, the team here at Students’ Union UCL Volunteering Service is here to support you throughout your volunteering journey – you can get in touch at any time with any questions, queries or problems you encounter.