Community Health Champion Volunteers

About Freshwinds

Since 1992 Freshwinds has been working to improve the health and well-being of adults and children living with long term conditions and those from socially excluded backgrounds in and around the Birmingham area, free of charge.

Our mission is to provide a person centred, fully integrated model of care and support to individuals with life threatening and life limiting illnesses and those experiencing social exclusion. We do this by way of a caring, safe and secure environment, exploring circumstances and emotions to find a true resolution to individual’s situations.

Community Health Champions

The Community Health Champions (CHC’s) programme is a partnership programme with Freshwinds. CHC’s are local community volunteers who care about the health and well-being of those around them and their community and bring their own life experiences to improve health and well-being in their communities. Within their families, communities and workplaces, they empower and motivate people to get involved in healthy social activities, create groups to meet local needs and sign post people to relevant support and services. Community Health Champions help others to enjoy healthier lives by raising awareness of health and healthy choices, sharing health messages, removing barriers and creating supportive networks and environments.

Freshwinds will train CHC’s to raise health awareness, support and signposting to local services. CHC’s will receive a course accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) on health awareness and health improvement, followed by the completion of a portfolio of activities to implement their learning. The portfolio will evidence the experience and skills gained while volunteering on the programme. Throughout this volunteers will receive close supervision and mentoring from an experienced team of public health, medical and health professionals.

Time Commitment:

Flexible, but roughly the equivalent of two hours a week. In total, volunteers are asked to give around 200 hours however much of this will be in activities you already do e.g. meeting family and friends, attending community events, your own work or existing volunteering activities or just talking to people. You will need to attend fortnightly supervision and mentoring meetings to create a portfolio of your activities and learning. Completion of the whole portfolio will require a period of 6 mths.

In addition to the above the initial accredited RSPH training will be over 2 days, and there is an additional day for induction on Freshwinds and the CHC programme.

Volunteer Role Description:

Community Health Champions are local people who care about the health of their community and of those around them. They will champion health by raising awareness, signposting people to local health services or projects and provide support to those who need that little extra help.Community Health Champions gain nationally recognised qualifications (level 1 and 2 in health improvement), other training opportunities and have the opportunity to improve the lives of their friends and people in their community.

This role would be ideal for anyone active in their local community.

Benefits to Community Health Champions

  • You gain a nationally recognised RSPH qualification
  • Access to other training opportunities (e.g. Mental Health, First Aid, 5 ways to well-being, drugs and alcohol)
  • Progress to new opportunities i.e. volunteering, employment, enterprise
  • Get involved with your community
  • Develop new friends and gain new skills
  • Improve your own emotional and physical health
  • Learn about, support and signpost your community to services
  • Fully supported in your volunteering role

Potential Volunteer Activities:

  • Discuss general happiness and health with friends and those in the local community
  • Receive training in being a Community Health Champion
  • Learn to offer health awareness and well-being advice
  • Gain experience in engaging individuals and groups in their personal and community health
  • Encourage people into volunteering
  • Learn about and apply your knowledge of local services, from where the doctor’s surgery is, to local gymsand sports clubs and community events.
  • Signpost those who wish to receive support to other services
  • Support local people in making positive healthy changes! Even go along with them to new activities or services
  • Record some basic information on the support that you give to others

Desirable Attributes:

  • Interest in health and well-being
  • Willing to learn new skills
  • Enthusiastic and outgoing with good people skills.
  • Commitment to your local community and those around you.
  • Ability to be sensitive and relate to a diverse range of people in a non-judgemental way.
  • Wishing to make a positive impact on the lives of others
  • Friendly

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