How to become a Night Light Volunteer
by Michelle Russell – Night Light Project Worker
Volunteering for a project like the Night Light Cafe, can be a really rewarding thing to do. But sometimes it can be quite daunting not knowing what the process will be like and how it works. So, I spoke with our Project Worker, Pam Jenkinson, who coordinates the new volunteer’s for our cafes.
Q: – How can people enquire about becoming a volunteer?
A: There are lots of different ways people connect with us about becoming a volunteer. They can email us at our NLC email address – nightlight@actstrust.org.uk or many people message us on our Facebook messenger page and make enquiries this way (https://www.facebook.com/nightlightcafelincoln.). Also, many of our volunteers join because they know people who are already volunteering either through the local churches, who run the cafes or by other means.
Q: So what happens once you receive an inquiry about joining a team?
A: So, firstly I send an email with more information about the cafes and a joining form for a potential volunteer to complete. Once I receive the form, I read it through (I always love this part as you get to know people’s passion for supporting those struggling with their mental health). I will then, email their referees and let the potential volunteer know I am doing this.
Q: What happens once this information has been received? What do you do then?
A: The next step is to invite all the new potential volunteers to an Induction Training Session. We always do this as a zoom meeting and they usually run once a month. These sessions are a great place for us to put faces to names and it enables the new volunteers to meet other new volunteers and some of the team. The training usually lasts around an hour and we spend time introducing what happens at the cafes, what the role of a volunteer is and some handy tips for being a successful volunteer.
Q: Do the new volunteers start straight away in the cafes, after they have received the training?
A: I will connect them to the cafe leads of their chosen cafe after the meeting. We usually recommend they do a few trial sessions to see if they enjoy it. If they do, then they fully join the team rotas. We also do a DBS at this point and will invite them to complete free mental health training.
Q: Finally, once someone is a volunteer, what support do they get?
A: It is really important to us that our volunteers are looked after well. So, we run monthly volunteer meetings where they can receive additional training as well as reflective practice. This is where they can talk through difficult conversations they may have had with our guests. Also, if there has been a tricky evening in the cafe, one of the team will always provide a follow-up support call to talk through and check you are okay.
If you would like to become a volunteer with Night Light Cafe, please email us at nightlight@actstrust.org.uk