Volunteering within Independent Advocacy

We are always looking for members of the public who are willing to volunteer for Independent Advocacy.

Why volunteer?

Independent Advocacy welcomes new volunteers who bring with them skills, experience and knowledge to add to the service.
Volunteers gain experience in rewarding and fulfilling roles within the organisation.
The clients of Independent Advocacy benefit from a volunteers assistance

What do our volunteers do?

Volunteers can work alongside advocates to provide supportive advocacy (short term involvement).
They can also fulfill the very useful role of citizen advocate (long term involvement).   

A number of other volunteering roles are now available including:

General volunteer - helping in the Independent Advocacy offices
Volunteer visitor
Promotional volunteer          


Who are our Volunteers?

People of all ages and backgrounds become volunteers for Independent Advocacy These may include:

Students – during gap years, vacations or in their spare time
Retired people – seeking a useful and rewarding experience
Working people – wishing to ‘put something back’ into society

Selecting Volunteers

We interview potential volunteers to assess their suitability for the role and to give them the opportunity to find out more about the organisation.
We ask volunteers to complete an application form which includes providing the contact details of two reference providers
Prospective Volunteers join a member of staff on visits to clients
Before a volunteer can meet on a one to one basis with clients the organisation will need to carry out a successful CRB check.


Volunteers can expect:

Flexible volunteering hours tailored to an individual volunteer’s availability
A comprehensive support package
Reimbursement of ‘out of pocket’ expenses
Testimonials etc with regard to the volunteering role within Independent Advocacy


Support and Training

Training new volunteers for their role is something we take very seriously. The work is so varied that much of the training needs to be done on a case by case basis; however we do arrange the following:

Initial training/induction by our Volunteer Coordinator
Regular meetings with staff advocates and other volunteers to discuss case studies
Accompanying members of staff to meetings with clients and other agencies
Regular supervision with the Volunteer Coordinator and/or a member of staff.

All volunteers receive comprehensive information to enable them to complete their tasks successfully this includes:

Code of practice based on the Advocacy Charter
Standards of conduct
Policies on confidentiality, equal opportunities, complaints etc
Health and safety guidelines
Guidance on setting boundaries in client relationships.

Becoming a Trustee

Volunteers can also become trustees of Independent Advocacy.

For more information about becoming a trustee please email office@Independent Advocacy.org

Independent Advocacy says farewell to Shane.

Shane Feeney, a 2nd year Community and Social Studies student at Coventry University has finished the placement he was undertaking with Independent Advocacy. Shane said “I want to thank everyone at Independent Advocacy for making me feel so welcome when I started. I have really enjoyed working with the team and it has given me a greater insight into the important work that Independent Advocacy do. I have learned a lot during my placement, and hope that my work has been valuable to the organisation too. I can thoroughly recommend volunteering with Independent Advocacy because they are a great group of people to work with and they really value their volunteers. ” During his time with the organisation Shane worked within the development team working on various projects and attended volunteer recruitment events.