Trailblazers Training Together Volunteer: This exciting new project uses ‘telepresence robots’ to help clients feel less isolated and more engaged with their local community. The volunteer will carry out this support relationship remotely from their own home, communicating via a robot in the service user’s home. Volunteers will encourage service users to become more physically active and more mobile. Volunteer placements will last for up to 6 weeks, with regular contact made several times a week. Ideally volunteers will carry out a number of 6 week placements until springtime 2023.
Introduction to Age UK Bristol
At Age UK Bristol we help make sure that everyone in Bristol can love later life. We do this by supporting and empowering older people, helping other organisations to work together, and championing the interests of older people in the city.
Our organisational objectives are to:
- Provide top-quality services and support to all older people in Bristol.
- Lead and enable collaboration between other organisations working with older people in Bristol
- Influence public spending and policies in a way that benefits older people in the city
- Promote positive attitudes to ageing in Bristol
We do this by:
- Providing quality information
- Delivering quality services
- Involving older people
- Giving older people a voice
- Working in partnership
- Maintaining an effective organisation
Volunteers are important and valued members of the team at Age UK Bristol. We will do our best to make your volunteer experience enjoyable and rewarding
Purpose of the Trailblazers Training Together volunteer role
The volunteer will work with one or more clients to help them feel less isolated and more engaged with the local community. They will encourage them to become more physically active and more mobile. The volunteer will carry out this support relationship via a robot, which is in the client’s home, remotely from the volunteer’s home.
The volunteer will work with the client over a 6-week period a few times a week, to increase their social skills, mobility, strength and balance and overall confidence so they can feel happier about going out and meeting people again. Ideally, the volunteer will go on to work on further 6-week periods with different clients.
The role involves
- Adhering to all Age UK Bristol policies and procedures, such as Confidentiality, Health and Safety and Equal Opportunities.
- Attending training sessions and volunteer meetings as appropriate.
- Building rapport with client to befriend them
- Encouraging variety of conversation and positivity
- Enhancing the health and wellbeing of the client
- Ensuring the client feels supported and listened to
- Working to encourage clients to be active at each contact
- Leading clients in appropriate physical activity, working on mobility, balance, and strength.
- Considering safety of the client and recognising their ability
- Monitoring and recording their feedback
- Learning new skills – such as digital skills, exercise instruction
- Raising concerns
Qualities and skills required for this role
- Empathetic and a good listener
- Understanding of the impact of social isolation
- Self-confident, positive, and resilient personality
- Open minded, patient, and non-judgemental
- Excellent communication skills including clear speaking
- Open to learning and able to reflect on experiences
- Willing to learn how to use the digital technology
- Happy to complete paperwork and reporting findings
- Respect of the client’s privacy as you will be ‘in their home’
- Understanding of boundaries
Training
We offer induction training and other relevant training opportunities to enable you to fulfil this volunteer role.
Full training will be given on the technology and how to use the robot remotely from your table, laptop or computer.
Full training will be given on the benefits of physical activity and the types of physical activity you can carry out with the resident and how to support them with this.
Hours to be available
Exact times and days to be agreed with the service manager, client, and volunteer
- A degree of flexibility is required.
- 6 weeks for each client
- 2 hours training before working with client
Time: Ideally 2 – 3 hours per week which can be spread over a few days ie; 4 x 30 mins, between the hours of 9am and 5pm
Location
No need to travel (except possibly for training)
Each session will be carried out from your own home
Expenses
AgeUK Bristol will pay all out of pocket travel expenses