Volunteer Application Form

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Chorley Help the Homeless.

We'd like to learn some things about you, so please fill out as many details as you can.

Some volunteer roles may require a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), the cost of which will be entirely covered by us.

1. PERSONAL DETAILS
Title:
First name:
Surname: / Home Telephone:
Mobile Telephone:
Address:
Postcode: / Email address
(if you wish to be contacted by email):
Do you have any disability which may affect your ability to work at our premises? □Yes □No
If yes, please give details.
We ask this question to enable us to consider any adjustments that we can make in order to assist you.
2. VOLUNTEERING WITH US
Which weekdays and hours would you be able to volunteer? / If appointed, how soon could you start?
What type of volunteer role would you like to perform at Chorley Help the Homeless?
Examples include:
Housing Advisor - Mediation or Counselling - Fundraiser - Receptionist - Food parcels and meals
3. YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES
Please list any of your academic qualifications, certificates or awards that you feel are relevant to this volunteering position:
Qualifications: Date attained:
______
______
______
______
3. YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES (cont)
Please give details of previous employment or volunteer positions you have held, most recent first:
Name of Employer: Job Title: Dates beginning & ending
______
______
______
______
Please write a brief description of the skills, achievements and life experiences that you consider relevant for a volunteering position with Chorley Help the Homeless:
Please use the back of this sheet if you need more space.
4. REFERENCES
Please give the name and address of two referees, one of whom should be your current or most recent employer if possible, who can comment on your suitability for this post. No reference will be sought without your consent.
Referee 1
Name:
Position:
Address:
Tel No.:
In what capacity does this person know you? / Referee 2
Name:
Position:
Address:
Tel No.:
In what capacity does this person know you?

Thank you for taking the time to complete this form. Please return your form to our office at 45 Clifford Street, Chorley, Lancashire, PR7 1SE. If you completed this form digitally you can email it to:

We'll contact you in due course to let you know if there are any suitable volunteering opportunities.

A WELCOME TO APPLICANTS

About Us

This position is based with Chorley Help the Homeless Ltd, a charitable company that provides a range of homelessness prevention and support services in the Borough of Chorley.

An Invitation to Join our Team

Much of the work we do to help local homeless and vulnerable people is only possible because of the support we get from our team of volunteers – our unpaid staff. Some people volunteer because we’ve helped them in the past and they want to give something back. Others help us to gain valuable work experience or to do something worthwhile with their time whilst unemployed or in retirement. Whatever the motivation, we welcome anyone who wants to join in and help us help others.

Help the Homeless MISSION STATEMENT

To prevent homelessness, and to support those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, through influential, capable, and compassionate charitable service.

WHAT WE DO AND WAYS TO HELP

Help the Homeless provides a range of services relating to homelessness prevention and support. We deal with around a thousand enquiries a year and for the majority of these HTH is the only provider in the Chorley area.

Housing Advocacy and Advice Service

Helps individuals and families, either already homeless or threatened with loss of their homes by eviction or repossession. The emphasis of this service is on early intervention and prevention wherever possible. Later, for those threatened with loss of their homes, we provided assistance with negotiation or, if necessary, court action where the threat was unfair or illegal.

Accommodation Finding Service

We seek to find accommodation for homeless clients with local authorities, housing associations or private landlords or, at times of greatest desperation, temporary accommodation, e.g. in a hostel.

Food, toiletries and household effects

To meet immediate emergency needs, we provide free food, toiletries and household effects to street-homeless and disadvantaged people.

Drop in Support Service

We supply hot drinks and soup as a drop in service, where there is always a patient and listening ear for our clients.

Furniture Redistribution Project

For the recent homeless and others in need, we run a furniture re-distribution project through which we supply furniture and household goods, all free of charge. Donated goods are collected from donor households in our van and distributed from our furniture warehouse. Note: unfortunately this service is on hold for the time being.

Mediation, Counselling, Mentoring & Befriending Service

From the charity’s experience it had become apparent that many young people presented themselves as homeless because of problems within families. The service was started in 2006 as a major part of the Charity’s Homelessness Prevention Strategy. By 2008 we were seeing over 100 families in crisis a year, where someone had left, was about to leave or had been asked to leave the family home. We managed to keep over 80% of families together and working on the problems that caused their original conflict.

Where We Are

Our registered office is 45 Clifford Street, Chorley, on the fringe of the town centre. This is a small, friendly office based in a terraced house conversion. From here we run the following services:

·  Housing Advocacy and Advice

·  Accommodation Finding

·  Mediation, Counselling and Mentoring

·  Drop-in Support

·  Food, bedding and toiletries

OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP US

1.  New Volunteers – CHTH needs as many volunteers as possible to keep the doors open and continue providing our services, and new recruits are always welcome.

Current opportunities include:

·  Housing information/advice assistants (training is provided)

·  Administration assistants & receptionists

·  Fundraisers

·  Website and social media admin

If you have some spare time and would like to know how you could join in to help us, please get in touch with:

Gavin Clayton – Tel: 01257 273 320 or email:

2.  Food and Household Goods Donations – we need a constant supply of tinned food, toiletries, household goods and electrical items that are in a reusable condition, so that we can help people who cannot afford these things during their current housing crisis.

You can drop off items directly to our office at 45 Clifford Street, Chorley.

3.  Gift Aid Donations – Maintaining our financial ability to continue providing our charitable services is a constant struggle, and donations no matter how large or small are always put to effective use. Donations are especially valuable to us when they have Gift Aid applied to them. This allows us to claim back from HM Revenue and Customs the basic rate tax already paid by the donor, which adds another 25p to every £1 you donate.

For more information, or to arrange a regular gift-aided donation please contact:

Gavin Clayton – Tel: 01257 273 320 or Email:

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