VOLUNTEER ROLE PURPOSE STATEMENT

ROLE /

Jesuit Social Services Volunteer Mentor

VOLUNTEER’S SUPERVISOR / Senior Project Officer, AVAMP
PROGRAM / African Visitation and Mentoring Program (AVAMP)
LOCATION WHERE VOLUNTEER WILL BE LOCATED / Volunteering on this program may involve travelling to one or more of these locations: The Brosnan Centre, Port Phillip Prison, Metropolitan Remand Centre, Melbourne Assessment Prison, Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and other prison locations as required
TIME COMMITMENT / Preparedness to make a minimum of 12 months commitment to the program and capacity and willingness to meet with participants between a fortnightly and monthly basis.

JESUIT SOCIAL SERVICES OVERVIEW

Our Vision

Building a Just Society

Our Mission

Standing in solidarity with those in need, expressing a faith that promotes justice.

Our Purpose

We work to build a just society where all people can live to their full potential -

by partnering with community to support those most in need and working to change policies, practices, ideas and values that perpetuate inequality, prejudice and exclusion.

Our Values

·  Welcoming – forming strong, faithful relationships

·  Discerning – being reflective and strategic in all we do

·  Courageous – standing up boldly to effect change

Who we work with

We are part of and work with:

·  Those most in need - individuals, families and communities

·  The broader communities in which we live

·  The decision-makers, service providers and institutions that affect us

What we do

We strengthen and build respectful, constructive relationships for:

·  Effective services - by partnering with people most in need and those who support them to address disadvantage

·  Education – by providing access to lifelong learning and development

·  Capacity building – by refining and evaluating our practice and sharing and partnering for greater impact

·  Advocacy – by building awareness of injustice and advocating for social change based on grounded experience and research

·  Leadership development – by partnering across sectors to build expertise and commitment for justice

PROGRAM BACKGROUND

The African Visitation and Mentoring Program (AVAMP) is delivered by Jesuit Social Services in partnership with the Department of Justice. It is an initiative that delivers mentoring support to people from African backgrounds who are imprisoned in Victoria – both whilst they’re in prison, and after their release.

AVAMP aims to match participants with mentors in order to assist their successful transition and integration into the community. To enable positive outcomes, mentors are provided with comprehensive core training which includes the role of the mentor, cultural awareness, understanding trauma and adopting a trauma-informed approach, as well as an overview of the Victorian criminal justice system.

KEY OBJECTIVES

·  To provide both prison-based and post release mentoring support to people from African backgrounds who are incarcerated in Victoria

·  To improve community connectedness – both in prison and post release – among people from African backgrounds who are/have been in contact with the criminal justice system.

OUTLINE OF VOLUNTEER’S SKILLS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

·  Experience in or willingness to learn how to engage with people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds

·  Participating in the core training program and making routine visits to prisons

·  Providing a brief written report on all mentoring visits/contacts to the Senior Project Officer

·  Developing collaborative working relationships with participants and other stakeholders

·  Participating in professional supervision when deemed appropriate by the Project Officer

·  Participating in activities that will promote social inclusion

·  A commitment and ability to communicate with and report to the Senior Project Officer on a regular basis

·  Attendance at two volunteer mentor get-together annually

·  Other duties, as may be required

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE NEEDED

·  Understanding and sympathy with the mission and ethos of Jesuit Social Services

·  Valid Working with Children Check card

·  Successful Interview

·  Police Check to be conducted by Jesuit Social Services prior to commencement.

TRAINING AND SUPPORT PLAN

·  Program Specific Mandatory Legislated Training

·  Volunteer Organisation Induction

·  Any other training deemed appropriate by the Senior Project Officer

REPORTING

Report to the Senior Project Officer on a regular basis

SIGNATURES

By signing this Volunteer Role Purpose Statement the Volunteer confirms that it has been read, understood and accepted

NAME: ______

SIGNATURE: ______

DATE: ______

APPROVED BY DATE

Susan O’Brien January 2018

General Manager HR

African Visitation and Mentoring Program Volunteer Role Purpose Statement, January 2018