Crisis Christmas. Our aims..... To provide a day centre service across London over the Christmas period, offering up to 20 services and companionship.

CrisisChristmas

Our aims.....•To provide a day centre service across London over the Christmas period, offering up to 20 services and companionship to homeless and vulnerably housed people

•To provide residential centres to the most vulnerable- i.e.: rough sleepers, people with dependency issues and women at risk

•To work in partnership with a wide range of agencies to be able to link our clients into sustainable service and learning provision

•To provide volunteers with a meaningful and enjoyable volunteering experience

Some statistics for CC2009....

•We welcomed over 2500 guests over the week

•28,000 meals were served

•401 guests were seen by our healthcare team

•585 people slept at one of our 4 residential centres

•1038 guests spoke to the Samaritans

•Nearly 9000 volunteers were involved in the project

2009Structure

•Rough Sleepers,

Volunteering at Crisis Christmas

•Minimum of 8000 volunteers needed•6000+ of these are “General Volunteers•2000+ are “Specialist Volunteers”•We also involve volunteers in setting up and closing down the centres•Volunteers must commit to a minimum of 2 shifts•Volunteers must be 18 years+ or accompanied by a parent or guardian•We encourage all volunteers to apply online•Applications open at the start of October

Volunteer Roles Available- General Volunteers

•General Volunteers may be asked to perform a range of duties including:•Greeting guest at the gate•Giving out clothing and toiletries•Looking after guests’ luggage store where they keep all their possessions•Cleaning duties•Perhaps the most important role is to offer companionship and socialise with guests•We do not ask for General Volunteers to have particular skills/ experience•All new volunteers are offered induction and all volunteers receive briefings and debriefings

Volunteer Roles Available- Specialist Volunteers

We need to recruit 2500 “Specialist” volunteers, including:

•Healthcare volunteers- opticians, dentists, doctors, podiatrists•Catering volunteers- chefs & experienced food handlers (training offered)•Advice volunteers- debt advisors, legal advisors•Dog handlers•Natural healers•Entertainment volunteers- musicians, comedians, jugglers....•Activities volunteers- IT & literacy tutors, fitness instructors, arts and crafts volunteers....

Crisis Christmas 2009- Who were our volunteers?

•9000 volunteers•30% returning volunteers, 70% first timers•70% lived in the Greater London area•Over 90% (2700) of volunteer respondents to our CC2009 feedback survey said they would be interested in volunteering at CC again•80% (2400) were interested in finding out more about year-round volunteering opportunities

Opportunities post CC2010

•Post Christmas we receive a deluge of enquiries from volunteers interested in continuing their volunteer activity•Crisis only has capacity to involve a small fraction of these interested volunteers•We currently refer to winter shelters, partner organisations, local VCs & do.it.org.uk•Opportunities for volunteering in homelessness booklet published 2009

Points for discussion....

•Is there more we can do together to translate this interest & motivation into volunteering activity?•Suggested referral routes?•Volunteering fair in January/February 2011 to promote related volunteering opportunities?•Next steps- resources/ interest/ capacity......