Good Neighbours Volunteer - Supporting you at home (Horsham District)

Who Are We?

The Royal Voluntary Service, Good Neighbours Service provides support which is tailor-made to an individual’s needs. The demand for our free service is growing and we are urgently in need of more volunteers to get involved to help those that reach out to us, end their social isolation.

The Role:

As a Good Neighbours Volunteer, you need a friendly personality and an understanding of the needs of older people. Our overall aim is to enable people aged over 65 to increase social contact and become more active in their local community. The service coordinators provide an initial home assessment with the client at a pre-arranged time to discuss their background, current activities, interests and what help they need to enable them to be less socially isolated and to live the life they want. We then draw up a plan and look to match a suitable volunteer with the client to help them to build confidence and reduce their isolation.

Our service volunteers can help with such things as:

• Accompanying a client to the shops or for a short walk
• Supporting a client to attend local clubs, groups, and activities.
• Giving help to a client to engage with former local contacts or to make new ones.
• Provide regular weekly visits to each client for up to 12 weeks.
• Volunteer long term, to help many more people.

It’s an ideal opportunity if you want to use your existing skills or learn new skills and contribute to the work of the charity by enriching the lives of older people. Our volunteers love the fact they are helping elderly people in their local community whilst giving something back and really making a difference to people’s lives.

Volunteering doesn’t have to take up a lot of time, usually just an hour or two a week, which can mean so much to an elderly local resident who finds it difficult to get out. Loneliness and isolation can have a devastating impact on a person’s health and wellbeing, but you could be the difference to improving their quality of life.

If you would like to do something amazing today and volunteer, then please get in touch either by phone on 01903 257019 or by email at gnwscoastal@royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk. You can also visit and sign up on our website www.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk or enquire through this website. 

Please note for this role an enhanced DBS (police) check will be required (no cost involved).

Weekend support can be considered - please contact the team for more details.

What skills do I need?

• A friendly personality.
• Good communication skills
• An awareness of confidentiality.
• A non-judgemental attitude.
• The ability to work within legal and Royal Voluntary Service guidelines.