Bridge Watch Volunteer (City of London)
Ascension Trust
Bridge Watch offers an inclusive and flexible volunteering opportunity to all adults over the age of 18 years Volunteers are trained to identify and support those who are at risk of self-harm and suicide through patrolling the areas around the City of London bridges or if preferred, the Hammersmith and Fulham bridges. Through active listening with a non-judgemental attitude, empathy and working the emergency services, you will provide the necessary support to help individuals in distress.
The areas of London, on and around the Thames and the bridges, are amongst the most popular attractions in the country. This popularity can and does extend to behaviour that leads people, for a host of reasons, to put themselves in harm’s way. In this role, Volunteers help address public health and safety issues in the areas surrounding the Bridges of the City of London. The Bridge Watch Programme aims to provide a ‘physical presence’ of teams of volunteers that will ‘patrol’ the areas on and around the bridges of London and who have a brief to engage with anybody indicating intent to enter the water, who are in distress and need to be able to talk to someone who will listen, understand and keep the safe. Work with a team of volunteers and trained professionals to identify those at potential risk of suicide from the Bridges of the Thames. Duties and responsibilities: • Communicate concerns effectively with trained professionals. • Engage, talk with, listen to and support those at risk. • Be visible, understanding, and resilient. • Be empathetic to the challenges that people face. • Signpost support available to those at risk. • Work with the emergency services to help those most at risk. • Keep themselves, and members of the team, safe always. • Are equipped to respond to an incident in a professional and effective manner. • Prepared to seek further advice, assistance, or support whenever necessary. • Record, on a digital form, outcomes from a patrol.
Advice, Information & Support,Caring,Community Work
Negotiating
Be able to work as an effective part of a team and be able to listen to someone who might be in distress providing support in an understanding and empathetic way and feel confident in working with a team to support, signpost and involve other services if necessary
• Saving Lives • Flexible hours • References • Networking • Training and development with the Ascension Trust and Mental Health • Opportunity to receive training from the Emergency Services. • Training on suicide prevention strategies
Minimum of 1 patrol (up to 2 hours) per month
EC3N 4DT
Tower Millennium Pier Tower Pier, Lower Thames Street, London, EC3N 4DT
Tower Hill or Bank Station – Next to the Tower of London
N/A
