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Victim Support Volunteer

Victim Support Scotland (Angus)
VO70938

This is a unique opportunity for you to make a positive difference to the lives of victims and witnesses affected by crime. Crime can affect anyone in Scotland and every one of us can help. Victims of crime often feel a range of emotions in the aftermath of an offence. What sets us apart from other support organisations is that we are available to all victims of crime no matter what it is or when it happened.

We are looking for more people to join our incredible team of volunteers who provide information, guidance, emotional support and practical assistance to help anyone affected by crime, including victims, witnesses their families and friends. This may take place in person, online, and in court.

Victim Support Scotland is the leading charity dedicated to helping people affected by crime across Scotland. We support victims of crime, witnesses and their family members, regardless of who they are and their circumstances. Our service is independent, free, non-judgemental and confidential. We offer bespoke support, personalised to the needs of each individual.

Victim Support Scotland provides information, practical help, emotional support and guidance through the criminal justice system. We offer specialist services to support people who face specific crimes including murder, terrorism, rape and sexual assault, domestic violence and hate crime. We empower people to cope with the aftermath of a crime and find the strength to move forward with their lives.

We have dedicated volunteers, supported by paid staff, in our national and local offices across Scotland, as well as our teams in the Sheriff and High Courts, helping us to provide high quality support to those affected by crime. Victim Support Scotland represents the voice of people affected by crime. We influence key national policy decision-making to champion victim and witness rights and improve support services.

How would you help?
Our Support Volunteers provide emotional support, practical help, information and guidance through the criminal justice system. We aim to empower people who have been impacted by crime, to move on with their lives. This includes:-

• Discuss service users’ needs by telephone, webchat, appointments and face-to-face contact, agreeing next steps at the end of each contact.
• Help service users feel more confident by arranging and conducting court familiarisation visits.
• Support service users in the court room and other appropriate locations on the day of the trial, liaising with court officials on behalf of the service users.
• Feedback and agree follow-up actions with staff members.
• Provide administrative support in completing the service users journey.

What are the benefits to me ?
Volunteering with Victim Support Scotland can be challenging and also extremely rewarding. Each time you volunteer you make a positive difference to someone’s life.

As a volunteer you will:
• Support people when they most need it.
• Learn new skills and knowledge of the criminal justice sector
• Gain access to a range of specialist training courses that are relevant to your volunteering role.
• Positively contribute to your community as a member of a team actively working to reduce the impact of crime.
• A chance to give something back.
• Receive support in your volunteering role to deliver services effectively.
• All agreed expenses (e.g. travel) will be reimbursed.

For a full role description, visit: victimsupport.scot/volunteer

Experience required

What skills, attitudes, experience, qualifications does a person need to do this volunteering opportunity?

Due to the nature of the role, there are key skills and experiences that we look for in our volunteers to ensure we maintain consistent and high standards of support for our service users.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Active listening skills.
• An empathetic nature with the ability to develop rapport with people affected by crime.
• A non-judge

Travel details

Across Angus.

I want to volunteer

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Restrictions

Minimum age: 18

Availability

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Frequency & commitment

We know that our volunteers have busy lives, so we agree the time commitment with each individual volunteer. However, we ask for: ? A minimum commitment of approximately one day per week dependant on availability ? Ideally a minimum commitment of at least a year to enable you to get the most out of your volunteering role and to provide some consistency for the victims and witnesses that we support.