VOLUNTEERING
Why should I volunteer?
Volunteering is a great way to build your skills and get the experience you need to work in the Substance Misuse field. If you want a 'foot in the door', spruce up your CV by adding some volunteering experience to it.
Did you know that some people who have volunteered in the past are now in senior level positions within the substance misuse field? See Lee's profile.
How can I do some volunteering?
- For volunteering jobs in the UK, type in your post-code. You can actually select 'drugs and addictions' as your area of interest!
www.do-it.org.uk - Volunteering England is a fundamental driving force behind supporting and promoting the use of volunteers. Here, you will find an abundance of information and useful web links to pursue your interest in volunteering
http://www.volunteering.org.uk/IWantToVolunteer - Various volunteering opportunities, including campaign work
www.idealist.org - Charity organisation that has a database of volunteering opportunities. You can use their search box to specify criteria, e.g. 'drugs'
http://www.timebank.org.uk - University / college students:
Get in touch with your campus-volunteering network or in-house careers service, they will be able to give you advice as to what projects you can contribute towards and those that are specific to Substance Misuse.
Alternatively you can visit the Prospects web site:
www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Public_and_Voluntary_Sector/p!eigjLcL
Some useful advice…
How do I find volunteering projects that are related to Substance Misuse?
You can do this by using search criteria, similar to what you would do when searching for jobs. If a volunteering web site has a search engine, use it to your advantage and use key words such as:
- 'Drug' or 'drugs'
- 'Substance'
- 'Addiction'
- 'Substance misuse'
What about work experience or work shadowing?
- Get in touch with your local Drug Action Team (DAT) and ask them for a list of service providers in their area. You can then contact those services directly either via telephone, letter or email to ask if you can perhaps spend some time work shadowing an employee or even to arrange a short work placement.
- You can ask your local DAT directly if they are willing to allow you to work shadow someone within their team!.
- Try NHS Primary Care Trusts and your local Police / Probation Service. They are large organisations that may allow you to pop in for a day or arrange a work experience project.
If you don't ask, you don't get!
What if I am not successful in finding a volunteering project or work experience?
- First words of advice are 'do not give up'! Persevere and continue to search for opportunities in your spare time. A quick daily check will ensure that you are up to speed with any opportunities that have been added to the database.
- Register your details with the volunteering web sites listed, so that they can send you emails relating to your area of interest.
Do I have to do a volunteering project that is related to Substance Misuse?
- There are many volunteering opportunities in the Health and Social Care sector, which may not be directly related to Substance Misuse field, but you will be able to pick up transferable skills that will be applicable to drugs and alcohol related jobs.
- So, the answer to the above question is no. There is voluntary work and work experience available in the general Health and Social Care field. Any type of volunteering experience can help you to build a portfolio of skills that will be excellent for your CV.