Befriender for Young Refugees & Asylum Seekers
HIAS+JCORE
Befriend an unaccompanied asylum seeking or refugee young person. By committing to 1 hour per fortnight, you can make a real difference to a vulnerable young person, trying to navigate their way through life in the UK.
HIAS+JCORE is welcoming new volunteer befrienders for our JUMP project, which pairs unaccompanied young asylum seekers and refugees with a trained adult volunteer befriender. At its heart, JUMP is about building sincere and supportive friendships. You'll meet fortnightly with a refugee or asylum-seeking young person for a year, and potentially beyond. Our volunteers provide informal support and friendship - and the impact is long-lasting and varied, depending on both people's interests. As a volunteer, you’ll receive full training and a DBS check, and will be joining our JUMP community with events and activities throughout the year.
Befriending, Buddying & Mentoring
Language Skills, Managing People, Reading & Writing
● Able to establish good relationships with young people. ● Able to use a non-judgemental, non-directive approach to working with young people. ● Empathy, sensitivity and patience ● Strong communication and listening skills. ● Reliable in making and keeping commitments, including arrangements to meet up. ● Aware of the needs of young people. ● Sympathy for the difficulties that asylum seeking/refugee children and young people face. ● Willing to enhance own awareness of the issues facing asylum-seeking and refugee children/young people through training. ● Aware of safeguarding and child protection issues, and: Willing to enhance this through JUMP training. Willing to follow JCORE’s safeguarding policy and procedures. ● Willing to ask for help when uncertain when befriending and to discuss the experience of befriending through regular updates and supervision.
Each volunteer befriender receives ongoing support from the JUMP project lead. If you are successful in becoming a volunteer befriender you will also become a member of the JUMP community. The JUMP community is made up of current volunteer befrienders and young people who meet every 3 months to take part in a wide range of activities. To ensure our volunteer team is as diverse as possible, JUMP covers expenses relating to volunteering.
Volunteers will be required to meet with an unaccompanied asylum seeking or refugee young person fortnightly for at least one year.
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Befrienders meet young people at a mutually convenient location.
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