ESC project in Ireland: volunteer in a community to support the homeless

Solidarity Through Inclusion – Tackling Homelessness in a Covid-19 World

Cork Simon community works in solidarity with men and women who are homeless, offering housing and support in their journey back to independent or supported living. Every night we provide over 115 beds for people in Cork who are homeless.

Aim of The Project:

In this project, we want to work with young people from different backgrounds in order to highlight the issue of homelessness and its related issues. They will be helping our residents with daily tasks, leisure activities etc. and in so doing will form connections with them. We expect to see that the participants that come to us develop new skills and confidence in their abilities.

They will also:

• gain an insight into the topic of homelessness and related issues,
• challenge their previously-held views and
• get a deeper understanding of the power they have to make positive changes as a young person in Europe.

Project Activities:

Through engaging with our residents, we hope that our volunteers will foster a deeper understanding of the topic of homelessness. They will be working alongside our staff to provide care and support to our vulnerable residents and service users. Our volunteers work 35 hours per week often in a shift pattern which may include sleepover shifts.

They will be helping with tasks like cooking and cleaning, engaging in leisure activities with residents, engaging with residents in different ways (going to the cinema, accompanying them to appointments etc.). They will have the space to create their own activities based on their own unique skills and interests.

This is a learning role and our participants will develop their practice with the help, support and guidance of a highly skilled staff team. They will be supported at every stage in the process by their colleagues, fellow volunteers, volunteer coordinator, and the community as a whole.

Project Management and Support:

Cork /Galway Simon has worked with volunteers successfully for many years and we have developed a robust volunteer programme. We aim to support the volunteers at all stages of their journey with us and have a strong management structure that allows this. We have a dedicated Volunteer Coordinator and Volunteer Assistant that help with the day to day support and organisation of the volunteer project.

Ideal Candidates

• This project is best suited to volunteers with a keen sense of social justice and a strong belief in active citizenship.
• It may be of particular interest to those who wish to gain experience of working in the social sector.
• We are looking for motivated individuals that are enthusiastic and committed.
• We cannot work with volunteers under the age of 18 years.
• Volunteers must have a good understanding of English as the role requires building relationships with our residents and service-users.

Recruitment Process

We require all candidates to fill in our application form as provided to their sending organisation. We will shortlist candidates for an interview via Skype/Zoom or similar.

As we work with vulnerable people, we require Police Clearance Certificates for all successful applicants. They will also need to complete the Irish Police Clearance process (‘Garda Vetting’) –  we will support the volunteers in doing this.

Prior to the interview, we will:

1. send the candidates a document with more information about the organisation and our volunteer programme.
2. answer any questions that candidates have at the end of the interview. We are available for follow-up questions via email afterwards also.
3. We will get back to all candidates with the result of the interview as soon as possible after the interview date.

BENEFITS – The project get finances from the EU-ESC program

As always for the EUROPEAN SOLIDARITY CORPS (18 – 30 years), the return trip is 100% covered up to a reference ceiling, while board and lodging are paid in full, as well as insurance and a short local language course and pocket money for personal expenses.

Deadline:

As soon as possible

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CONTACT DETAILS

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INFO PACK HERE

Application form here

In the form, please specify if you are applying for the Galway Simon Community or Cork Simon Community project. Also specify if you are willing to participate for other projects, in case of non-selection for the chosen destination. The pre-selected students will be contacted for a Skype interview and will get more information about the project.  Please Note:  THE SELECTIONS ARE MADE BY FOREIGN PARTNERS and not by the Voluntouring web project. For this reason, ONLY THE PRE-SELECTED OR SELECTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED BACK by the relative agency.

There are many ways you can support Cork Simon including donating and volunteering.

For more details see www.corksimon.ie.

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See more European Solidarity Corps programs

Go to Ireland volunteer projects section