National Launch for Homeless Volunteer Programme

6th August 2013

The Cathedral Archer Project (CAP) is launching its Partner Programme today at the Homelesslink National Conference in Reading.

  The Partner Programme is a successful model of good practice within volunteering that has been developed and is used by The Cathedral Archer Project. The model aims to assist clients to achieve their personal goals, through supporting them to move away from street life into lives that are more secure, stable and meaningful. Chief Executive, Tim Renshaw said at the conference, -I am proud of the way the Partner Programme values those who volunteer by giving them a great opportunity and the training support to succeed. The Cathedral Archer Project is a day centre for homeless and vulnerable adults based in Sheffield City Centre. It was established in 1990 and provides both crisis and long-term support to individuals in need, aiming to help them find pathways out of and away from homelessness and exclusion. CAP has recently been awarded Investing in Volunteers by NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations). The majority of clients using the project have multiple complex needs, which alongside homelessness, may also include drug and alcohol issues, involvement with the criminal justice system, mental and physical health problems, seeking asylum, or living in extreme poverty. There has been a long tradition of volunteering within the Cathedral Archer Project. Like many voluntary sector organisations, their service provision both in quantity and quality is enhanced through the work of volunteers. Throughout its history some of those who have volunteered at the project have come from the client group. For many years the work they undertook in the project did not involve a high level of skill or responsibility. There are no good reasons why this was the case except a low level of resources to manage and support volunteers. It was always recognised that the client group was full of individuals with the talent and experience to contribute to the running of the project and to improve the services the project offers. In May 2012, The Cathedral Archer Project secured funding from the Social Action Fund to undertake a 15-month evaluation of its volunteering opportunities. This enabled The Partner Programme to be developed, evaluated and redeveloped with the aim that the opportunity and support offered to clients who become volunteers will enable personal growth. The learning is that volunteers experience more than they or the project could have imagined. The Partner Programme is not just about gathering experience and certificates; it's about laying new, self-determined foundations for the next years of life's journey. The full evaluation of the Partner Programme is available through the resource pack workbooks that are free to download from the dedicated website www.thepartnerprogramme.org.uk.  Each workbook provides the evaluation learning and practice development examples for each stage of the model. By sharing the lessons the Cathedral Archer Project has learnt as well as the stories of how service user volunteering has changed lives, they hope that other organisations that want to start or develop volunteering opportunities within their own contexts will find this resource to be a valuable tool, and will use it to implement or improve practice to the benefit of their own volunteers. One of the clients who has benefited from being on the Partner Programme is Chris.  He had been struggling to pay his rent and gradually built up rent arrears over the years.  He moved in with girlfriend to save on rent and started paying back arrears bit by bit.  His original debt was around £600, but reduced it while living with girlfriend to under £200.  He had some personal , his mum was ill with diabetes, and then his dad died unexpectedly.  This affected his relationship and very soon after he split up with his girlfriend and had to move out.  To block out some of the stress he was drinking, but not alcohol dependent. He didn't want to be a burden on the rest of his family who were also coming to terms with the situation of his parents, so did not ask for support with accommodation.  He was too proud to admit how bad things had got.  He was still considered to have debts with housing, so they were reluctant to re-house him.  He was not considered high priority for housing associations because he was not classed as alcoholic, drug dependent or suffering with mental illness.  He ended up sofa surfing for 18 months before CAP supported him into accommodation.  He is now one of our Partner Programme volunteers and in his words, -is feeling good.  Chris can be seen on the video outlining the Partner Programme on the Partner Programme website.