Volunteering

 

Islington Victim Support is a voluntary organization and though we have a small paid professional staff we rely very considerably on the work of volunteers.

We need volunteers who are interested, after training, to give emotional and practical support to people who have been victims of crime, or who are witnesses at Court. We are looking for people, aged 18 and over, who are:

 

 
  • committed to caring for others and to helping them
 
  • able to be objective about other people’s problems but to empathize with them
 
  • able to keep confidences and to observe an Equal Opportunities policy
 
  • willing to undergo our training
 
  • willing to stay with us for at least a year

 

Other Information:
  • Volunteers who help people in the community can be in touch with victims in the evening or at the weekend
  • Volunteers at Highbury Magistrates Court need to be able to give at least one day a fortnight when they can be at the Court during the day

 

Training for helping people in the community:

We run two courses a year, usually in the spring and in the autumn. The course consists of 8 sessions - over two Saturdays, and one evening in the week for six weeks. This initial training covers the effects of crime; equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice; simple counseling skills; the services that can help; practical ways of helping people. After some time in the job there is further training in helping victims of violence and racial harassment.

Later on it is possible to do specialist training in helping victims of sexual assault and rape (women only), and families of murder victims.

Training for helping people at Court

This training covers communication skills; the Criminal Justice system; court procedures; equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice;

Would you like to discuss volunteering with us?

If you are interested to be a volunteer in the community please call us on 0207-272-0784.

If you want to be a volunteer at Court please call us on 0207-506-3207.

Other kinds of volunteering

If you have other skills that you can help us with - for instance expertise in computers, fundraising, management – please contact us.