Residential Community Volunteer

Overview

Volunteers are peer mentors to the community residents and both live within our city and farm communities, and manage the day-to-day domestic tasks and decisions within the building, which is their home. Volunteer tasks may include: Accompanying a resident to appointments, Helping a resident to cook a meal for the whole community, Acting as a sounding board for a problem or difficult situation, Offering mature and calm guidance.

Our two Residential Communities are supported housing projects for 18 to 30 year olds. Our large house in North Edinburgh and working farm in West Lothian aim to create a safe, stable and secure environment where young people can live, learn and develop together.

Each community is home to up to eight residents. As well as residents, each community has up to six residential volunteers who live at the community for either six or nine month placements. These volunteers are peers to the residents and so are also between 16-30 years old.

The volunteering role is to:

• Live alongside other young people and create a fun, secure and stimulating community.
• Work with residents to develop independent living skills and the confidence to move forward in life.
• Supporting residents to take part in activities and placements.

This is an excellent volunteering opportunity for people looking for a gap year or university placement in the charitable sector, offering great experience in the care or social work sector. 

PLEASE NOTE:  We welcome applications from all over the world. However if you are not a UK, Irish or Commonwealth citizen with the right to work in the UK, an EU passport holder with settled or pre-settled status or a BNO passport holder (Hong Kong), you will need to obtain a Tier 5 Visa. This also means that you cannot apply for a visa to us directly. We work closely with a global network of volunteering organisations called SCI who are able to sponsor visas. To find your country’s branch, visit their website www.sci.ngo. 

Feedback from our volunteers:

"Excellent experience!!

I was a helper in this farm community from Aug 2021 to March 2022! And I’m keen to work in the charity!

All the staffs and helpers are all so supportive !! We all maintained good relationships! I enjoy day to day living in experience there!

They also have more communities in Edinburgh which provide service towhich provide service to adult/youth homeless, youth refugees and mental health."

Raya

"Stayed at the Farm community for 7 months September-april, such an impactful time for me and I met so many people who I'll stay friends with. The team at the farm is fab, everyone is ridiculously friendly and I would definitely recommend this if your looking for a community living environment where you'll eat together and spend some of your free time hanging out exploring Scotland :))
The work is tough but very rewarding, you do have to be mentally resilient as the work is emotional at times, and you can be dealing with very serious sensitive issues. But if like me (and a lot of the other helpers) you have an interest in psychology this can be such a meaningful step into the world of support work and the care system, and will teach you why it is so vital to have these spaces for the people who need them most.
I really will cherish the time that I had working at the farm, its the best Workaway I've done by far!!"

Laura

"This is not your usual Workaway. Fenomenal experience for anybody who wants to get a chance to live in Scotland, and do some really meaningful work. It gets hard sometimes, but you can always count on staff's help and support. You will meet fantastic young people from all kinds of backgrounds, with sometimes difficult past but with great potential. You will spend days working and having fun, getting to know the residents, working in an international team of Workawayers, learning about Scotland, life here and social work. You will have a chance to have your say in how the community life looks like, enough time for your own hobbies and projects, chance to visit the country (provided lockdown is over...).
I feel really happy I had this experience."

Kinga