What can I do to get help?

Devon is probably too far away from me here in North Derbyshire, but this was my line of work before I retired, I worked in Mental helath rehab for a large London based charity who had Housing association status, and Project houses throughout the Uk. Although im physically disabled now, I would have loved to have helped out in some way.

Stress flexibility in commitment ( if possible). In my experience there are many people who feel they can’t offer their services because they want to be free to help with grandchildren or go on holiday ( not so much at the moment) or just out for the day if the weather is good and are consequently wary of offering even a half day a week whereas they would willingly do so many hours a month at times to suit them.

Unfortunately the bureaucracy involved, though necessary, is enough to put people off - (CRB checks, etc.) Also, people are also wary of getting drawn in to giving more time than they intended and some are just wary of being involved with homeless people generally.
Perhaps you could find a way for people to help without being face to face with homeless people - office work, investigative work only for example, you might do better. Just a thought!
Also have you tried appealing to 6th formers and students? They are usually so good with technology they can achieve search results etc quickly - and it would look good on their CV's. Just another thought! Good luck.

There is a website called 'Freegle' which is basically a 'give and wanted for free' website, but they also have what they call a 'volunteeer round-up' page which advertises for volunteers. Also students are always willing to help need causes so ask at your local uni or college.

I wonder if you can hook up with local colleges and make yourself a voluntary placement ? So pick a course that teaches something involving vulnerable people, social work, counselling etc so they can write about their experience ? Or contact local job centre and offer work experience? Lots young people need work experience to get jobs , so showing themselves to be reliable , show up set time, be responsible, patient, with social skills etc is gold to them !!! Good luck !!

Well it’s the way you sell it.
I don’t mean to be unkind but I certainly wouldn’t want to do what you do particularly for free.

Granny activist - make yourself known to secondary schools where they do the Duke of Edinburgh Award because voluntary work is integral to this and you may get a rolling programme of young volunteers from one year to the next. You would also be doing your bit for intergenerational self-help.

All excellent advice Granny activist. But it's a big ask to volunteer with no incentives whatsoever if they are not getting paid. What about paying expenses like petrol or train fares and or free tea coffee and sandwiches.

I think you are asking too much of volunteers- to make decisions about people's lives and different situations. You need to start paying people to work for you as the tasks sound very complicated and time consuming. If a volunteer makes a mistake and, say, a person is made homeless because they had the wrong advice, where is the comeback!

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

You need paid staff, I dont think what you are describing is a role for volunteers.

I am thinking that perhaps retired social workers would be good to help.
They will already know about those forms and how to fill them in.
Also social workers who are being furloughed perhaps could step in for a time to train up others

The organisation I work with utilises volunteers also and we have a great team....have you thought about linking in with Citizens Advice?
They may have people who can't meet their time commitments but could offer you some time.
Likewise if you have any local colleges that have a law dept'....we work in the field of criminal law, many Uni's have a law clinic so students need less supervision.
Apologies if I'm repeating suggestions.

Having read through what a volunteer needs to be able to do, I doubt there are many people in the area that have these skills.
I worked in community health and public health at management level and would struggle to find someone for a salaried position to do all of the tasks you ask for.
Maybe asking for volunteer office help would find volunteers.

I’m wondering if it’s more to do with how we are living at the moment with covid lurking around that has maybe put people off rather than anything else. Maybe folk are concerned that these people may have higher risk of being/ getting infected due to the way they are living. Obviously I don’t know but it popped straight into my mind when I read your post.

I was part of a fundraising event last year for a homeless charity. I got talking to a volunteer who told me of a scheme of offering a couple of days of emergency care in ones own home to allow the person a good nights sleep and a shower while a more permanent solution could be found. I have two spare bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms so excitedly took a brochure with a view to talking my husband in to doing something good.
The brochure stated that great care should be taken, the guest must not have friends to visit and we must not open the door to any friends of the guest. They must not be left alone in other rooms of the house and all valuables must be locked away. I can’t remember the rest but it certainly put us off.
A shame really because it makes your job very difficult.

I wonder if your local radio station could be of help. A few years ago on our local radio, a lady who was a volunteer prison visitor was given a slot to speak about the need for volunteers to help some of the recently discharged prisoners. This plea was to help them specifically with learning to read.
She was shocked to find that many of the prisoners were illiterate and felt that by being able to read it would give them more of a chance in life.
If you could have the chance to speak on your local radio station you could put your request across with the help of the host putting across some of the specific things required by volunteers. Wishing you well.

I think radio has already been tried JanaNana

I used to volunteer with Citizens Advice and I wonder if you could contact your local one, explain your dilemma and see if anybody would be able to help you.
WI is another option. Offer training and support as well in your advert. That helps people to feel comfortable. Good luck ??

Good luck Grannyactivist I do think that the current situation is going to make older people quite anxious about helping the homeless. Others have suggested ways of recruiting volunteers, but retaining them is also important.
The small local charity for which I volunteer provides excellent training and continues to look after us volunteers, providing support and (currently online) social events where we can share our experiences. I'm proud to be part of it.

People shy away from volunteering because it's an unknown situation and they are fearful of being pressured to do more hours/days than they want to.

If you can get them 'over the doorstep' for a set, two hour taster session, you're half way there - especially if they can bring a friend.

If you have tried the local volunteer bureau, I can only suggest your local branches of Lions Club, Round Table, Seroptomists or publicity through local radio.

Can you tell me where are you based please.

I think Devon was mentioned further back.

My DD works for a homeless charity. They have a tiny paid staff - basically part-time wages for more than full time jobs! - and a few volunteers. My DD was originally a volunteer and got involved through a weekly event to provide food for homeless and low income people. That attracted quite a few volunteers. They had a charity shop too, which brought in volunteers - but also required quite a lot of volunteers, so it wasn't a very good source of recruitment for other work.

The learning curve from volunteer to full-time worker has been fast and steep, as the charity itself was developing and they were learning how to put the correct systems in place. Covid-19 has made it harder. (DD is responsible for ensuring that everything is Covid-19 safe, in addition to all her other jobs.) You will know how complex the work can be, not only with all the safeguarding and confidentiality issues, the need to know all the relevant legislation, the networking, and so on. There are also the complex needs of the service users and often their challenging behaviour. I am sure that you can think of many more issues which make the work far from simple.

What I am trying to say is that there is a limit to what you can ask volunteers to do. At DD's charity, they have managed to keep some volunteers during lock down, although the charity shop and public events like free meals were curtailed. They have development plans for all volunteers to help them develop skills and confidence (particularly useful for the volunteers who were formerly service users). However, the vast majority of the responsibility has to be shouldered by the staff. It's one thing to ask somebody to serve hot drinks or give a sleeping bag to a rough sleeper, but a lot to ask a volunteer to deal with complicated issues where lives can literally depend on your work. DD's charity has trained some volunteers to do some of the initial work but the responsibility rests on the shoulders of the staff. I am not sure that you will get many volunteers who want to take that on. It's a big responsibility, a lot of work and often involves wrestling with bureaucracy. Not everyone's cup of tea.

As you can't do public events, which attract attention, at the moment I think your best hope is online. Do you have your own Facebook page for your charity? DD's charity has many followers online, amazing people who support them and will help out if there's a dire emergency - doesn't happen often but they are there if needed. If you can get followers for your Facebook page, maybe you can recruit from there.

You are doing good work. Bless you and good luck.