Some case studies from the step up and connect projects
BRIAN A VOLUNTEER WITH ‘STEP UP’ supported volunteering project
Brian was isolated, living alone with very little going on in his life, other than during the evening when he attended his local Mencap group.
Having a volunteer role to call his own, as well as a buddy volunteer there to offer him support, has made a tremendous difference to Brian’s self esteem and confidence.
Brian is now attending college to study art, as well as night to school to improve his literacy and numeracy and also attends a local swimming group. His social life has improved, as has his love life!!
He feels a lot more positive about his life and doesn’t get depressed anymore, enjoying the feeling of being useful and needed.
Brian feels part of the team at his placement, where he helps out in the kitchen for an older person’s luncheon club. He often stays for his lunch with the staff, once he has completed his voluntary work.
Brian has just completed his Basic Food & Hygiene certificate for his placement and has recently been asked to increase his volunteering from two days per week to four. This demonstrates the commitment from the volunteer placement to Brian and, more importantly, the valued contribution that Brian makes as a volunteer.
Brian started his voluntary work working alongside his buddy helping to clear up the tables. He now works in the kitchen area, whilst his buddy is still out clearing tables, and is largely unsupported. However the important thing for him is the friendship that he shares with his buddy. He feels secure in the knowledge that she is there as his “back up” should he need her.
ADRIENNE – Brian’s ‘buddy’
Adrienne had no prior experience of supporting a person with a learning disability before getting involved with Step Up.
The benefits for her in supporting Brian have improved her life vastly.
Adrienne was widowed a number of years ago and always found the winter a tough time to get through. Having the voluntary work placement to attend each week gave her a purpose and she found, for the first time since losing her husband, that she felt a lot more positive about life during the winter.
Adrienne enjoys her friendship with Brian, as well as all the people she meets at the luncheon club each week.
As with Brian, Adrienne feels part of the team and enjoys the feeling of being needed.
SALVATION ARMY LUNCHEON CLUB – Placement
We originally had some difficulty in placing our volunteers at the luncheon club, as the organisation had not really utilised volunteers before, but this has now developed into a really successful placement with the manager fully understanding the ethos of the Step Up Project.
The manager recently nominated both Brian and his buddy Adrienne for a volunteer award from their local Volunteer Centre as a way of recognising and rewarding the contribution that they both make to the team.
Further commitment is demonstrated by the fact that both Brian and Adrienne were asked to complete their Basic Food & Hygiene certificate and that their expenses are paid.
Brian has been asked in the past to help out on extra days on an ad hoc basis and, more recently, has been asked to increase his voluntary work from two days to four on a permanent basis. This demonstrates the confidence that the placement has in Brian and his abilities as well as the commitment they have to supported volunteering.
PAUL – a volunteer with Step Up supported volunteering project
Paul volunteers at a bowling club in a local community centre. He is supported by his buddy Brian who had no previous experience of disability.
Paul had very low self esteem and confidence and found it difficult to relate to new people and situations. Brian’s friendship and support, together with what he sees as acceptance at the bowling club has markedly developed his confidence and self image. He feels secure and happy so much so that when Brian was on holiday he volunteered without support. He has now undertaken supported employment a big step forward. He is now currently working two afternoons a week in a local supermarket.
Brian - Paul’s buddy
Brian had no previous experience of disability. The support and training from the project especially in the beginning was very important. He and Paul now have a real friendship that is important to both of them. It took time to build their relationship as initially Paul was very depressed and unmotivated. It also took time to build the trust of his mother and family. The first big step for Paul was actually to make tea and coffee to other people’s need not his own. He is extremely popular with bowling club members.
The bowling club is seasonal but they both want to go on to other volunteering opportunities together that will develop and stimulate Paul’s confidence and ability as well as enjoying social outings together. Brian is now retired and supporting Paul, and their growing friendship is an important part of his life.
The Oaks Community Centre – the placement
They are extremely pleased to be involved. The support from the Project, especially in the beginning, has been extremely important to making things work for everyone. The coffee bar where Paul and Brian volunteer is extremely busy during the Bowling club sessions. Paul initially was uninvolved and Brian had to do all the work. His confidence increased through developing new relationships, so much so, that he was able to manage alone when Brian was on holiday. Paul is very popular. He does however need supervision and some support that they do not have the resources to provide on the long term.
The Family
Paul’s mother had lost all trust in the professional services which she felt had failed her son. He was labelled difficult and disruptive at school and the college he currently attends. Services, she felt, had always tried to make him fit into a ’box’ rather than the other way around. No one had ever seen things from Paul’s point of view. She is absolutely delighted at his progress as a volunteer with Step Up. The acceptance of the members of the bowling club has made him so much happier and confident . She had initially been resistant to Paul volunteering in the community. This was due to previous bad experiences. She appreciated that staff listened to and understood her concerns particularly in the beginning. This had enabled her to gain confidence and trust in the project .
LYN - Befriendee - Connect Friendship Scheme
Lyn is in her late forties and lives at home with her elderly parents. She has complex needs, including communication difficulties. This has made her parents extremely protective of her. The Connect Project was based at the Huyton Club which is one of the 18 leisure clubs run by Nugent Care volunteers. This enabled the matching and ‘getting to know process’ with the potential buddy/befriender to be developed at their own pace. Developing the trust of Lyn’s parents in the new project and Leah her buddy was a key part of the initial process.
LEAH - Lynne’s’ buddy
Leah has built up a good relationship with Lyn and was initially going to visit the local swimming baths as they where both keen swimmers. However, this has now rolled out to visits to a picture house, ten pin bowling with other volunteers, the pub, local shops and bingo. This has given Lyn great confidence and a break in routine while widening her social and community networks.
LYNNE’S PARENTS
The project has given confidence to Lyn’s parents by allowing their daughter to go out with someone they trust and probably more importantly to have the confidence for Lyn to go on respite for the first time in her life.
DEVELOPING COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS
Lyn has also visited Leah’s home to meet her husband and her 2½ year old son who she takes with Lyn to the swimming baths. Lyn feels very comfortable with this as she is quite happy to tell him to be careful etc.
Leah thought the Connect project was a great idea and although she has done some voluntary work with people with disabilities in the local swimming baths some years ago, she felt comfortable with the project idea that was presented.
EMPLOYMENT OF PROJECT WORKERS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
Employing two Project Workers with learning disabilities, for both our supported volunteering project (Step Up) and our community friendship scheme (Connect), was integral in ensuring that our work with people with learning disabilities was person centred.
From offering the simplest of suggestions of using photographs on our publicity posters to make them more accessible to featuring on a local radio station, both Project Workers have brought invaluable experience and insight to our team, enabling us to drive forward with our work.
Impact on the organisation
Nugent Care now has a fully accessible recruitment system in place following the appointment of our Project Workers. Both Project Workers were involved in the selection and interviews of their own Support Workers and service user involvement of this kind is now being look at across our organisation.
Within our team we strive to ensure that all the information that we produce is accessible.
For many members of staff at our head office, their contact with our Project Workers was the first experience they had ever had of meeting somebody with a learning disability. Jonathan and Wayne’s presence has helped to raise staff’s awareness of disability, often challenging prejudices and misconceptions they had previously held about disabled people. Seeing Jonathan and Wayne making a valued contribution to the work of Nugent Care has earned them the respect of their colleagues.
Impact on Project Workers
The impact that having a paid job has made on the lives of our two Project Workers cannot be underestimated.
For one of our Project Workers, just feeling equal to his brothers and sisters in bringing home a pay cheque and having a job to talk about meant everything to him. This impacted on every aspect of his life and his family and outside support workers all commented on his growth in both confidence and maturity on being employed by Nugent Care.
Both Project Workers have a real sense of pride in the work that they do and have earned the respect of all their colleagues with their commitment and achievements.
It is not to say that employing two people with learning disabilities has been without its difficulties. The responsibility of having a paid job was something that both of our Project Workers found hard to undertake initially, dealing with structure and policies and procedures that they had not encountered before. Over time, and with support from the team, both Project Workers have now grown into their roles making a valued and vital contribution to the team.
Impact on our Project
Our two Project Workers have been positive role models for the people with learning disabilities getting involved with our projects. Seeing what they have achieved in their paid roles has given inspiration to the people with learning disabilities getting involved with us, particularly as volunteers with the Step Up Project.
Having the input of our Project Workers in every aspect of our work from producing publicity, to attending meetings, making presentations and delivering training has enabled us to work positively towards offering person centred provision.
The challenges faced by employing two people with learning disabilities have enabled both our project and Nugent Care to grow and learn how to effectively respond to the needs of people with learning disabilities.
ABOUT NUGENT CARE
Background to the volunteering projects
Nugent Care is the social welfare agency for the Archdiocese of Liverpool and has been offering its services to those in need since 1881.
The Volunteer Management Project at Nugent Care was formed in 1999, following a successful bid to the Lottery, with a remit of recruiting, training and supporting volunteers who, on the whole, offer their friendship and support to people with learning disabilities.
Another successful bid was made to the Lottery in 2002 enabling the Volunteer Management Project to expand and set up a supported volunteering scheme for adults with learning disabilities, the Step Up Project, and a community friendship scheme for people with learning disabilities, Connect.
To date, both of these projects have enjoyed a high degree of success and the difference that this work has made to the lives of the people with learning disabilities involved, their families and carers and the volunteers supporting them, has been tremendous.
Supported volunteering is still a fairly new concept and our project has recently been approached by a number of organisations, wishing to set up their own supported volunteering schemes, seeking advice and examples of good practice.
An integral part of the success of both Step Up and Connect has been the building of successful partnerships with other organisations offering support to people with learning disabilities eg. advocacy projects, day centres, colleges, etc. Monitoring and evaluation have underpinned every aspect of the development of both projects. This has enabled us to remain focussed to make the best use of all our resources, human and financial and ensure quality service outcomes for all our stakeholders.
Our greatest learning curve has been the amount of time that needs to be given to setting up the relationships between the people with learning disabilities working with us and the volunteers supporting them. However, the investment of this time is crucial in building the foundations for valued and lasting friendships, many of which have surpassed our project’s expectations.
Do contact is if you would like more information about the projects and developing supported volunteering:
Katie Rowan,
Consultant to the voluntary sector,
2 Rheidol Terrace,
London N1 8NT.
Tel: 020 7354 1666
Email: katie@rowan2.fsnet.co.uk
www.katierowan.co.uk
Marie Reynolds
Volunteer Services Manager,
Nugent Care,
99 Edge Lane,
Liverpool L7 2PE
Tel: 0151 261 2000
MReynolds@nugentcare.org
