Centrepoint and The Mix call on volunteers to help staff UK’s first helpline for young and homeless

Homeless helpline: Centrepoint is calling for volunteers
Matt Watts11 February 2017

Charites today called for volunteers to help staff the UK’s first helpline for homeless young people.

Thanks to more than £3 million raised by the Standard’s Young and Homeless Helpline charity appeal, the Centrepoint Helpline will launch on Monday.

Experts from Centrepoint will give vital early intervention housing and homelessness advice on the Free-phone line to people aged 16 to 25 facing life on the streets.

Working alongside staff and volunteers from charity The Mix, callers will also get support on the complex issues that often lie behind homelessness, such as mental health or family breakdown.

Homeless helpline: The Freephone will support young homeless people
Matt Writtle

The two charities have hailed the partnership as “groundbreaking” in the level of support for callers.

They will share a call centre space in central London and work together to answer phones. Callers will be passed between the services depending on what support they need.

Both charities are now looking for volunteers, working remotely and in their call centre, to staff their help-lines and web services.

Centrepoint is initially looking for 50 volunteers to speak to callers and online users when its helpline expands this summer to include SMS, live web chat, and other forms of digital communication.

It has the staff and volunteers to operate the helpline, but wants more volunteers as numbers accessing the service increase in coming months.

The Mix, the UK’s leading youth advisory charity, is also looking to recruit 150 volunteers to sustain an expected boom in demand.

It offers advice and counselling on topics including bullying, debt, drink, drugs and mental and sexual health that can be the trigger for people ending up homeless.

Could you do it?

Minimum time required: At least  2-3 hours a week.

Helpful attributes:  Good communication  and listening skills, IT skills, calmness under pressure, empathy.

Roles: Offering emotional support and directing young people to services through phone calls, emails, and webchat. Moderating web forums and managing live chat groups.

Location: From home or at the call centre.

Training: Full training on how to give support, and use equipment and systems.

Chris Martin, chief executive of The Mix, said: “Many volunteers find the experience personally rewarding and empowering. It can be a great way to meet new people, share your own experiences, earn an accreditation and to make a big impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of young people in crisis.”

The Mix’s website services are visited by two million young people a year, 1.1 million of them from London, including 520,960 aged under 25.

Some 20,000 people have contacted its helpline, including 2,000 calls about housing support.

Callers are given immediate support and signposted to other services which can give them longer-term help.

Heather Devine, 35, The Mix’s office manager, who started off as a volunteer in October 2015, said: “I’d recommend volunteering. The hours are very flexible, and the difference you can make to young people’s lives is incredibly rewarding.”

For more details in volunteering visit themix.org or centrepoint.org or email helplinevolunteering@centrepoint.org.

To give to the appeal, call 0300 330 2731, text HOME66 £5 to 70070 or click here.

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