SOVA (Supporting Others Through Volunteer Action) is a charity that works to strengthen communities by involving local volunteers in promoting social inclusion and reducing crime.

By Tom Green

Louise Castello, SOVA's Development Director, explains how SOVA involves volunteers.

What kind of work does SOVA involve volunteers in?

SOVA provides a range of volunteering opportunities across England and Wales. In many cases, volunteers are trained and supported in delivering one-to-one mentoring support to individuals from offending and other disadvantaged backgrounds.

Not all volunteer support takes the form of generic mentoring, though. For example, volunteers may also be asked to accompany individuals to appointments, help them prepare for job interviews, or support sports and drama projects.

SOVA also provides opportunities for disadvantaged young people to volunteer themselves. These opportunities are currently presented by the Millennium Volunteers project managed by SOVA in Sheffield which trains young people in the skills necessary to undertake volunteering placements with community groups in the city, and the "v" project, which aims to provide full-time volunteering opportunities for young people who have offended, or are at risk of offending.

What sort of volunteers are you looking for?

Volunteers from all backgrounds and with all kinds of life experience are welcome. SOVA works hard to promote and support diversity in its projects. This does not mean that everyone who applies will be accepted as a SOVA volunteer. We take our responsibilities to our staff, volunteers and service users very seriously, and volunteers whose attitudes or understanding of the volunteering role cause concern will be asked to leave.

We continue to develop projects to encourage peer support, so that individuals who have overcome particular disadvantage can bring the benefits of their experience to others in similar situations, and we work hard to ensure that individuals with criminal records are not excluded from volunteering opportunities wherever possible.

Do people need to have previous experience?

No previous experience is required, and people with all kinds of life experience are encouraged to become volunteers. All volunteers receive full support from SOVA project staff throughout their involvement with the organisation.

What's the typical application process?

Our application process is quite straightforward. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer will be sent an application pack by a project local to them. They will be asked to complete a straightforward application form, and will then be called in for an interview, which takes a set format. Once they have passed the interview, a place will be made available for them on the next training course. Training courses are flexible to meet the needs of volunteers with other commitments.

Following the training, they will take part in a further, informal interview at which any needs or interests which have emerged during the training will be discussed, and then they will be ready to undertake a volunteering opportunity. All volunteers are required to be checked by the Criminal Records Bureau at an enhanced level. This may take some time and can occasionally hold up their first volunteering opportunity, but all volunteers are made aware of this at the outset. However, possession of a criminal record will not by any means preclude someone from becoming a volunteer.

Will volunteers get training?

No volunteer is permitted to undertake an opportunity without having received the requisite training. Training covers all the core skills required for volunteering, including defining boundaries, dealing with conflict, addressing confidentiality, equal opportunities and diversity awareness, personal safety and the rights and responsibilities of volunteering.

In addition, volunteers within specific projects receive training pertinent to the nature of the work they will be undertaking, such as working with young people, becoming an appropriate adult, working in custodial settings, working with substance misusers etc.

SOVA's training course is accredited by the Open College Network, and volunteers are supported in achieving accreditation if they wish to do so, but there is no requirement that their individual training is accredited for them to volunteer.

What next step should someone interested in volunteering take?

Visit the SOVA website for more information about how to apply to volunteer.

Volunteer Gemma Betts talks about volunteering for SOVA

What's the project you're currently volunteering on?

I'm currently involved with SOVA's mentoring project in Lincoln which provides volunteers to act as mentors to young people between the ages of eight and 17 who are at risk of offending or experiencing social exclusion.

How did you come to be involved?

I heard about SOVA from my local Volunteer Centre when I was looking to gain some experience of working with young people after university.

What does your volunteering entail?

I meet with the young person I mentor every week for a few hours. We usually go out somewhere to do an activity such as swimming or going to the cinema and she can discuss any problems she has or just talk about how her week has been.

How much time does it take up?

After the initial training it's generally a few hours a week, plus a little extra time to complete a small amount of paperwork.

What's been the best thing about it?

The best thing has definitely been seeing the change in the young person I mentor. It's up and down, but in the long run you really feel as though you're making a difference just by being someone they can talk to. It has also given me the chance to meet lots of new people, including the other volunteers I trained with.

What's been the most challenging part of the role?

Getting the young person to remember when I'm meeting them! It's also difficult when you feel as though you're not helping or there's been a set-back of some kind. It's sometimes a challenge when you feel as though once you leave the young person they forget everything you've discussed, but it's really about being there so they can talk through issues when they need to.

Search for opportunities with SOVA on do-it.org.uk or visit the SOVA website.

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