A lottery funded project in Maidstone demonstrates a unique approach to working with volunteers with extra support needs
From the July 2000 issue of Volunteering Magazine
Working with volunteers with extra support needs often poses a challenge for volunteer managers. But a lottery-funded project in Maidstone demonstrates that, with mutual trust, clear aims and the right structure, it can be very successful. By Bridget Overton
The V Team was launched in February 1997, when a National Lottery Charities Board grant gave Maidstone Volunteer Bureau the opportunity to fulfil a seven-year ambition. We had been getting frustrated by the number of volunteers who did not succeed when placed with other organisations. We recognised that, for many of them, it felt like yet another failure.
The V Team was specifically designed to meet the support needs of volunteers with mental health problems, people recovering from drug and alcohol abuse, people with learning disabilities and people with criminal records, as well as people with no confidence. Our aim was to give them a successful and fulfilling volunteer experience. We were not offering therapy, but an opportunity to feel valued and useful. The choice of service the volunteers could offer was easy, because we were inundated with requests for gardening, practical and DIY tasks from people with few resources.
Our research among potential service receivers showed that they wanted to feel safe with the volunteers and with the work that was done for them. The simple solution was to appoint a full-time worker with practical and DIY skills who had experience of risk assessment and, most importantly, an understanding of the special needs of the volunteers. The V Team leader always works alongside the volunteers to ensure that the tasks, which are pre-arranged and planned, are completed successfully.
It can be difficult to resist the pressure from the huge waiting list of gardening and DIY tasks, but we know the volunteers need time and attention and so targets must be set with this in mind. The team leader has to be careful to preserve a professional relationship with the volunteers while trying to promote a working environment that is relaxed and encourages a lot of laughter.
When a volunteer has pasted the wrong side of the last metre of border, ten minutes before a two-week decorating task is to be completed, s/he cannot explode on the spot but needs a safe place, back at the office, to let out the frustrations without having to wait for monthly supervision. S/he also needs a safe place to rock with laughter at the memory of a particular volunteer covered from head to toe in green fence paint, after s/he has cleaned everybody and everything, checked for physical damage and taken the volunteer home. Formal supervision is still vital, however, because it gives the worker an opportunity to look at the bigger project picture rather than the daily challenges.
Graham Mayer, who created and built the V Team, says, I am able to take time to know each individual volunteer and build on their strengths at their own pace. I also need to respect and be aware of their limitations, and allocate tasks appropriately. For example, on one occasion we were asked to carry out a small removal. In the week leading up to it, I asked all those volunteers who I considered were best able to complete the task. One volunteer, who I had not asked because he had a slight mobility problem, pleaded to be able to help on the day. Against my better judgement, I agreed. On the day of the removal, he tried his best, but felt that he could not cope, that he was getting in the way and that he was letting the team down. At the end of the task, we discussed the day and we both found a positive point to take away. Mine was to remember that it doesnt matter how enthusiastic a volunteer is, if they are not going to have a worthwhile experience, they shouldnt be asked to participate.
The key to the success of the V Team project is trust. The volunteers have total trust in the team leader and the Volunteer Bureau, and so do the vulnerable service receivers. Within that comfort zone, the volunteers are able to give of their best, and to enjoy thanks and praise from the service receivers and respect from the local community.
Bridget Overton is manager of Maidstone VB
