Volunteering

Training will be provided for all the above – see below.

Working as a volunteer at Emerge can be an incredibly rewarding experience. We all volunteer here for various reasons but a desire to help others usually lies at the heart of why we do it. We are ordinary people and so are our clients – it’s important to remember that. When we are able to help others in even the smallest of ways then we know that what we are doing is worthwhile.

We take your own emotional and mental health very seriously – volunteering can, at times, be a challenging experience – and it is with that in mind that we offer supervision at both individual and group levels. Think of supervision as talking to us about anything you have heard and/or seen whilst with a client which has upset you. Sharing your thoughts and any concerns you might have with us is very important – nothing is too small to mention – in order that you are able to fully support your client/s and/or other volunteers.

We will provide you with comprehensive training which starts with an Introduction three hour classroom training session at our offices, discussing Emerge and what we do.

This is followed by a course of online learning via Google classroom, where we cover:

• What is Child Sexual Abuse (CSA)

• Grooming

• The effects of CSA

• Healthy Sexual development

• Supporting a survivor

• Healing

• Feelings

• Trauma

• Who are the perpetrators of CSA

This is then followed by another three-hour classroom training session in our offices, where we cover:

• Questions from online training

• Resources

• Policies

• Procedures

After that you will have the opportunity to work-shadow another volunteer and familiarise yourself with our office practices. You will be encouraged to attend our drop-in sessions – for both survivors and (separately) their supporters – and you might be invited to sit in on a face-to-face session, with the client’s permission of course.

You will also need to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) application before being allowed to engage with an Emerge client on a one-to-one basis – we will talk you through this during your interview.

Thereafter, and when we feel that you are ready, we will encourage you to take on a client for 1:1 support. Rest assured that we will not push you into this if you feel that you are not yet ready.

Please note that we cannot reimburse any travel or other expenses which you might incur as a result of attending an interview or, subsequently, as a volunteer with us, they will be your own responsibility to cover. There is no charge for undergoing a DBS clearance check and car parking facilities at St George’s hospital are free (you will, however, have to register your car at reception each time you park on-site).

You can find our contact details in the Contact us section below – we look forward to hearing from you!