Mental Health Volunteer Roles in West Kensington, Greater London

Sutton Mental Health Foundation was established as a charity in 1998. Its aim is to support individuals experiencing serious mental health issues in the London Borough of Sutton. We aim to keep such individuals well and active helping them to have a voice in the provision of mental health care in the Borough.  Our vision is to provide a community in Sutton which values mental wellbeing and understands how to respond positively to individuals’ anxiety and distress.  The Foundation works together to promote mental wellbeing resilience and recovery from mental distress.We provide nonclinical support through our Intentional Peer Support programme together with a Day Service and a Crisis Cafe at our centre in Belmont. We receive funding mainly from the NHS and the London Borough of Sutton although we are part of the Voluntary Sector. 

We are seeking to add to the expertise of our experienced, professional Board of Trustees all of whom are volunteers.  All our Trustees require excellent communication skills, the ability to work effectively as part of a team, strategic vision and good independent judgement. Although not limited to, we would particularly value the experience and skills in the following areas : 

• Company Secretary/Legal Experience 
• Fundraising in the following areas – Grant, Corporate and Public 
• Marketing 

Lived or shared experience of mental health – desirable. 

Inclusion is one of our values and we are looking for diversity in the makeup of our Board. We particularly welcome applications from underrepresented communities.

The Board of Trustees meets every six weeks, in the evening at 7 p.m. for approximately 2 hours in Sutton.  Sometimes our Board meetings are on-line.

Sutton Mental Health Foundation is looking to recruit a volunteer secretary position to the Trust Board, to support and assist the Chair and CEO.  This is an important and confidential role within the Trust.  The main areas of the role are, in consultation with the Chair and CEO, the preparation of all Board/AGM meetings, the preparation of Board/AGM papers, minute taking and writing up the minutes in a timely manner.  Other duties involve the support to the Trustees, as well as updating of trustee records.  Th board of trustees meets in-person, approximately every six weeks, in the London Borough of Sutton. A full role description will be provided on application.

As background information, Sutton Mental Health Foundation was established as a charity in 1994 and the aim of the Foundation is to support people with mental health needs in the Borough of Sutton, helping to keep them well and active and helping them to have a voice in mental health care in the Borough.  Our vision is to provide a community in Sutton which values mental wellbeing and understands how to respond positively to anxiety and distress.  The Foundation works together to promote mental wellbeing resilience and recovery from mental distress.

Do you enjoying talking with people and helping them based on your life experiences?

Are you able to volunteer a few hours a week?

Yes? We’d love to hear from you.

What is knus?

knus is the UK’s first free, confidential, mental health peer support and coaching online chat service. knus offers mental health educational plans, relaxation experiences and live workshops.

What does knus mean? 'hug' in Danish.

Here’s some further information on what’s needed:

Are you over 18 and living in the UK?

You must be over the 18 years of age and live permanently in the UK.

Do you have a laptop?

A laptop and a quiet space to volunteer is essential.

How much time can you give?

A minimum of 3+ hours per week is required. We are flexible and like to work around you.

Do you like to learn?

We provide training for all volunteers that join us. Our peer support training is CPD accredited.  20-25 hours of volunteering training is required and is self led online.

If you’re interested head over to our website and we can have a chat or apply here.

Please note - all successful volunteers are required to pay the cost price of £20.60 for an Enhanced DBS check.  If you've got a current Enhanced DBS on the update service, this cost will not apply.

You must be a UK resident to apply for this role.

An exciting opportunity to volunteer flexibly from home for Shout - a 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone in the UK who is struggling to cope. We are looking for empathetic volunteers to join our amazing online community. 

You’ll benefit from:
∙ Vocational development: develop digital mental health skills and experience recognised by universities and colleges and relevant to many professions
∙ Personal development: learn communication, active listening, problem solving skills and crisis management skills
∙ Supporting people who are struggling to cope: help those who have no-one
else to talk to and who really need ‘in the moment’ support
∙ Being part of a pioneering global community: connect with both UK and New Zealand volunteers via a digital hub

A Little Bit of Sunshine UK (ALBOS UK) is seeking to recruit Policy and Campaigns volunteers to support the charity at an important point in its development, its second year of operation, supporting young people to be at the heart of decision making in support services. 

We expect everyone who is part of our organisation to be committed to our values and share our ambition to become a more diverse and inclusive charity. Our vision, mission and values can be found on our website.

What we do

We work closely with young people and communities to shape a future where every young person can access mental health support, feel connected, and live without stigma.

Our policy and influencing work aims to create lasting change by addressing systemic barriers to youth mental health care. We advocate for policies that prioritise mental health, ensure adequate funding, and promote accessibility. 

About the role

As a Policy and Campaigns Volunteer, you will play a key role in supporting our efforts to influence policy, raise awareness, and advocate for improved mental health services for young people. You will work closely with our Policy and Campaigns team to help shape and deliver impactful campaigns and contribute to policy development aimed at creating lasting change.

We are looking for dynamic volunteers who will help us to advocate for change, and work collaboratively with other Policy Volunteers and across the wider charity, to plan, create, and roll out policy and campaigns.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist in research, analysis and drafting of policy papers, briefing notes, and reports related to mental health issues affecting young people.

• Support the development and creation of campaigns that raise awareness and push for reforms in mental health services

• Monitor relevant policy developments, governmental reports, and key discussions within the mental health sector.

• Help with the development of training materials or toolkits for volunteers and supporters to increase awareness and engagement around mental health policy.

• Attend and contribute to team meetings and brainstorming sessions for campaign strategies and policy priorities.

• Contribute to the drafting of letters, petitions, and policy submissions aimed at influencing decision makers.

• Engage with young people to ensure their voices are heard and included in policy recommendations and campaign efforts.

If you would like to expand your skills in policy work and campaigning and can commit to volunteering 4–6 hours per week, then we would love to hear from you. 

If you would like to have an informal conversation with a member of our team please get in touch with us [email address in Role Description].

Closing date:  14/10/2024 at 10am

Informal interviews will be held as and when suitable applicants apply, but all applications before the closure of the advert will be reviewed. 

Please note that you must be 16 or over and be willing to undergo the DBS process to be appointed to this volunteer role.

We are seeking to appoint a Trustee Safeguarding Lead to provide strategic oversight and leadership for the organisation, particularly in the area of Safeguarding.

The purpose of your role is to work alongside the other trustees to ensure that the Association is working towards its charitable purposes, is complying with all applicable rules and laws, and is making best use of its resources to achieve its aims.

Whilst safeguarding is the responsibility of all trustees, as Trustee Safeguarding Lead, you will  provide support to the CEO and the Operational Safeguarding Lead in their operational roles, promoting safeguarding within the organisation and our affiliated Nightlines, providing a strategic, advisory and governance role.

Being a charity trustee with the Association is a rewarding experience and gives a unique opportunity to support and shape a national mental health charity at the highest level. Now is an exciting time to join us as we have recently transitioned from a volunteer-led organisation to a staff-led model, which is opening up new opportunities. 

Trustees have legal responsibility for the Association’s management and administration. They are ultimately responsible for the Association’s work and are accountable to both the Association’s legal members and its regulators such as the Charity Commission for the good governance of the Association.

Trustees take considered and informed decisions in the best interests of the Association. Trustees are not expected to be experts on all areas of their work but are expected to seek guidance and support where necessary and to bring their own knowledge and experience to contribute to discussions.

You can find out more about being a Charity Trustee from the Charity Commission, the Scottish Charity Regulator and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.

Do you enjoy organising things and making this happen?

Are you able to volunteer a few hours a week?

Yes? We’d love to hear from you.

We’re looking for admin volunteers to help with our daily operations.  We have a variety of ways you can get involved:

• Responding to client requests and enquiries
• Fundrasing and partnership management
• Managing and updating company databases
• Keeping track of partnership enquiries
• Maintaining internal, volunteer, and client records
• Drafting and mailing client correspondence and newsletters
• Organising events, scheduling meetings, and making travel arrangements
• Providing administrative support to other departments or projects as needed
• Performing other duties as agreed in advance

We’ve designed our volunteering programme to be flexible and adaptive to you.  All volunteering is 100% remote and you’re supported fully by our team.  You control what you do and how many hours per week you want to volunteer.  Some roles may require an Enhanced DBS check. If your application is successful, we will ask for a donation towards the cost of your enhanced DBS check if it's required for your role. This cost is £20.60.

Here’s some further information on what’s needed:

Are you over 18 and living in the UK?

You must be over the 18 years of age and live permanently in the UK.  You must be a UK resident to apply for this role.

Do you have a laptop?

A laptop and a quiet space to volunteer is essential.

How much time can you give?

A minimum of 3 hours per week is required. We are flexible and like to work around you.

Training

We provide CPD accredited training with 3 short courses needing to be completed prior starting your volunteer role.  After, you’ll have access to over 90 CPD accredited courses should you want to study further.

Stronger You Aims to make sure that every person has access to some kind of mental health support when they need, especially in this time when waiting lists are at the highest.

We provide workshops in Southampton as well as online blogs, videos and support that give tangible advice and support that anyone can use at any time,.

As operations manager you will be supporting Stronger You's founder to run the day-to-day operations, help fund raise for the charity And support on communications such as Creating newsletters and looking after the social media.

Although we are based in Southampton This role will be done online As the majority of the work will be to support the founder plan, fundraising and help communicate. We would require a couple of hours a day, which is completely flexible and negotiable.

To apply please click the quick apply button and submit A CV, a covering letter for why you'd be good for this role and answer a few short screening questions. We will then issue interviews as applications come in, due to the the urgency of needing this role.

Responsibilities of the role will be to:

Work with the founder to develop and create fundraising strategies and applications for new and interesting projects.

Work with the founder to develop both the online and off-line projects as well as help secure volunteers and staff of those projects.

Work with fan to develop and create communication strategies, including creation of a newsletter and regular posting to social media networks.

Support the founder in general admin, such as answering emails, creating appointments and more.

Work with the founder to make sure that all the requirements are complete such as report writing, questionnaire making In receipt collecting is done to a timely manner.

This role sits within our new Men’s Minds project, based in Hounslow. The aim of the service is to improve men’s mental health outcomes by developing a mental health network supported and directed by the voices of its members.

This will be achieved through three service strands: 1) Peer support network, 2) Psychoeducation workshops, addressing common needs of men’s mental health 3) Outreach support to raise awareness of men’s mental health and promote this service.

The role of the Peer Volunteer will be to support the Project Coordinator with developing and delivering various workshops and events. You will also take the lead in developing peer led support.

Staff within the service will provide person-centred, practical and emotional support, face to face in a group basis to individuals.

We are looking for someone who

• Identifies as male
• Has lived experience of mental health challenges
• Are a non-judgemental and friendly individual
• To be able to provide a welcoming, authentic, and positive experience for all, being inclusive and embracing diversity
• To feel comfortable engaging with people with mental health challenges / difficult life experiences, by validating strengths and experiences and using empowering language to overcome negative self-talk
• Are empathic and understands the stigma / social bias's surrounding mental health
• Are willing to tap into their lived experiences and use their stories to inspire hope in others when appropriate
• Are comfortable with co-producing and co-facilitating peer led workshops
• To assist the Project Coordinator with admin and planning
•  Are able to take on any ad hoc admin/support responsibilities

Time commitment and expenses:

• Flexible hours between Tues-Thurs. We are looking for someone to commit to a minimum of at least 1  or 2 days a week.
• We will provide volunteers with an induction, training, and ongoing mentoring to support them in the role
• Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed.

What's in it for the volunteer?

Volunteering at Mind is a fantastic opportunity to get involved with a nationally recognised charity. We provide initial and ongoing training, as well as plenty of opportunities for progression within the organisation. You will also be a part of a supportive team with great awareness of wellbeing and the mental health sector.

 About Nurse Lifeline

Founded in 2020, Nurse Lifeline is the UK’s first national, free, confidential, and peer-led listening service for all nurses, midwives, students, healthcare support workers, and their friends and families. Our charity was developed collaboratively by frontline nurses driven to support the mental health and emotional well-being of their colleagues. We provide a safe space for our community to offload and decompress with professionals who share their experiences and understand the pressures they face.

We are now seeking an experienced and dedicated individual to join our Trustee Board to support the next phase of our growth. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of a young, impactful organisation committed to improving the well-being of those in the nursing and midwifery professions.

 Responsibilities of all our Trustees:

- Governance: Ensure that the charity operates within the legal and regulatory framework of the sector and in accordance with its governing document, striving for best practices in governance.

- Strategic Direction: Contribute to determining the overall direction and development of the charity through good governance and clear strategy.

- Financial Oversight: Oversee the effective and efficient administration of the charity, ensuring its financial stability.

- Engagement and Representation: Actively engage with other Trustees and represent the organisation appropriately, bringing your personal experience and perspective to the role.

- Decision-Making: Evaluate performance against agreed goals and targets, participate constructively in meetings, and contribute to collective decision-making processes.

- Conflict of Interest: Declare any conflicts of interest while carrying out your duties.

- Advocacy: Advocate for the charity’s mission through your networks and support its efforts to raise awareness of its services.

- Additional Contributions: Participate in other tasks as they arise, such as attending charity events and supporting organisational initiatives.

 Person Specification

Essential Requirements:

- A demonstrable commitment to the vision, purpose, ethos, and values of Nurse Lifeline.

- A commitment to improving the mental and emotional health of our beneficiaries.

- A commitment to equality, inclusion, and diversity – with the ability to treat all people fairly, honestly, and with respect.

- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills – with the ability to listen, influence effectively, and demonstrate clear reasoning.

- Experience of leading teams and building supportive relationships – with a collaborative approach to decision-making.

- Strategic thinking – the ability to operate strategically, be held accountable, and hold others accountable for the benefit of Nurse Lifeline.

- Impartiality and confidentiality – the ability to demonstrate fairness and respect confidences.

- Knowledge of the Voluntary, Community, or Charity Sector.(Desirable)

- Previous experience in a governance role (Essential)

- Must be a registered Nurse or Midwife (Essential).

 How to Apply

If you are interested in volunteering as a Trustee for Nurse Lifeline, please send an current CV and a covering letter (no more than two pages of A4) explaining why you are interested in the role, any relevant experience, and how you meet the essential criteria outlined above.

 About Nurse Lifeline

Founded in 2020, Nurse Lifeline is the UK’s first national, free, confidential, and peer-led listening service for all nurses, midwives, students, healthcare support workers, and their friends and families. Our charity was developed collaboratively by frontline nurses driven to support the mental health and emotional well-being of their colleagues. We provide a safe space for our community to offload and decompress with professionals who share their experiences and understand the pressures they face.

We are now seeking an experienced and dedicated individual to join our Trustee Board to support the next phase of our growth. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of a young, impactful organisation committed to improving the well-being of those in the nursing and midwifery professions.

 Responsibilities of all our Trustees:

- Governance: Ensure that the charity operates within the legal and regulatory framework of the sector and in accordance with its governing document, striving for best practices in governance.

- Strategic Direction: Contribute to determining the overall direction and development of the charity through good governance and clear strategy.

- Financial Oversight: Oversee the effective and efficient administration of the charity, ensuring its financial stability.

- Engagement and Representation: Actively engage with other Trustees and represent the organisation appropriately, bringing your personal experience and perspective to the role.

- Decision-Making: Evaluate performance against agreed goals and targets, participate constructively in meetings, and contribute to collective decision-making processes.

- Conflict of Interest: Declare any conflicts of interest while carrying out your duties.

- Advocacy: Advocate for the charity’s mission through your networks and support its efforts to raise awareness of its services.

- Additional Contributions: Participate in other tasks as they arise, such as attending charity events and supporting organisational initiatives.

 Person Specification

Essential Requirements:

- A demonstrable commitment to the vision, purpose, ethos, and values of Nurse Lifeline.

- A commitment to improving the mental and emotional health of our beneficiaries.

- A commitment to equality, inclusion, and diversity – with the ability to treat all people fairly, honestly, and with respect.

- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills – with the ability to listen, influence effectively, and demonstrate clear reasoning.

- Experience of leading teams and building supportive relationships – with a collaborative approach to decision-making.

- Strategic thinking – the ability to operate strategically, be held accountable, and hold others accountable for the benefit of Nurse Lifeline.

- Impartiality and confidentiality – the ability to demonstrate fairness and respect confidences.

- Knowledge of the Voluntary, Community, or Charity Sector.(Desirable)

- Previous experience in a governance role (Essential)

 How to Apply

If you are interested in volunteering as a Trustee for Nurse Lifeline, please send an current CV and a covering letter (no more than two pages of A4) explaining why you are interested in the role, any relevant experience, and how you meet the essential criteria outlined above.

Job Description Chair of Trustees

Introduction

The Lucy Rayner Foundation (LRF) is a charity set up in May 2013 by the Rayner family after the loss of daughter and sister Lucy to suicide. The LRF is an organisation that supports young people to deal with their mental health issues and provides them with tools and techniques to improve and maintain their mental health in the long term. This is done through education, training and support services.

Mental health has reached an all-time high and the demand for our services is increasing every day. We became incorporated in July 2022 to grow the charity to meet those demands and we have ambitious plans for 2024/25.

Currently we are without a Chairperson due to unforeseen circumstances and we are now looking for a dynamic leader to help steer the Charity in the years ahead.

The Role

The Chair will lead the Board in its role to ensure that the clear strategic direction of the charity is met as laid out in the regulatory framework, that governs LRF through its compliance, financial management and people performance.

The Chair will also support and, where appropriate, challenge the Chief Executive, use effective collaboration, constructive engagement within the Board and between the Board Members and support with the management team, staff and volunteers where necessary. 

The Chair should also act as an Ambassador and the public face of the charity as part of the LRF external communications efforts. The Chair also line-manages the Chief Executive with governance and HR procedures.

Time Commitment - Four Board meetings a year and Chair the meetings and is to hold regular meetings with the Chief Executive by agreement.

Reporting to: - The Board of Trustees

Terms: - 3 years (there will be a three month probationary period following the appointment

Renumeration: - Unremunerated. Out of pocket expenses incurred can reimburse

Role & Responsibilities

- Establish a culture within the Board the fosters integrity, inclusion and openness

- Working closely with the Chief Executive, to shape the work of the Board to ensure constructive challenge and support in the development, implementation of policy frameworks, organisational strategies, financial management and effective risk management whilst ensuring that it  meets all the charitable objectives.

- Responsibility for governance arrangements working in the most efficient way

- Esure that there is the right level of governance in place

- Develop the knowledge capability of the Board of Trustees

- Encourage positive change, where appropriate, address and resolve any conflicts within the Board

- Ensure that the Trustees understand the balance between governance and management

- Chair the meeting of the Board of Trustees

- Supporting the Chief Executive, whilst respecting the boundaries which exists between the two roles

- Ensure that the Chief Executive has the opportunity to grow and develop professionally and has the appropriate professional support

Personal Description

- Has 3 years of experience as a Chair

- Experience of operating at a senior strategic leadership level within an organisation

- Have a passion for supporting those with mental health

- Experience of charity governance and working with or as part of a Board of Trustees

- Strong leadership skills, ability to motivate and bring people together

- Financial management skills with an understanding of charity finance issues

- Experience of chairing meetings and events

- Demonstrate a strong and visible commitment to the Charity, its strategic mission and objectives

- Strong networking abilities that can be utilised for the benefit of the Charity

- Ability to commit time to conduct the role to the best of your ability, including attending events out of office hours.

Closing date for applications:

The Lucy Rayner Foundation operates an equal opportunity policy and commit to treating

and commit to treating all of our candidates and jobseekers fairly. We welcome and encourage

applications from everyone regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual

orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil

partnerships.

Amazing, giving, inspiring and awesome are just a few of the words we would use to describe our volunteers.

Our volunteers play an integral part in the services we provide and the people we support. If you are looking for a rewarding role where you will really make a difference whilst gaining experience along the way, then join us here at Rethink Mental Illness.

About the role

We are looking for Volunteer Befrienders to support our Brent Mental Health service in the London Borough of Brent. Volunteers must be based within this area to take part in face-to-face befriending activities.

As a Volunteer Befriender, you will be required to travel across Brent to meet with service users and carry out your role. Ideally, you will be able to commit a minimum of 2 hour per week to volunteering. 

There will also be opportunities for you to support staff who deliver wellbeing and recovery workshops to service users e.g. managing anxiety or confidence and self-esteem, if this is something you would like to get involved with.

You will be supported by Befriending Volunteer Coordinators who will provide regular supervision to ensure you feel confident in your role. You can read more about the benefits of volunteering on the full advert on our website.

About the service

Our Brent Mental Health service provides support to people aged 18 and above, who live in the Borough of Brent, and who have a mental illness and are known to the local NHS trust Central and North West London (CNWL).

The aim of the Befriending Service is to;

• Reduce social isolation of service users
• Increase the confidence of service users in accessing community resources independently
• Provide meaningful activities and peer support for service users 
• Help service users to live happier, healthier, independent lives
• Provide volunteering opportunities for people with mental health issues
• Reduce stigma and raise mental health awareness

What you will be doing as a Volunteer Befriender:

• Meeting with service users in locations and times which meet their needs (including evenings and weekends)
• Provide befriending support to a maximum of 2 services users at any one time
• Provide emotional support based on your own lived experience
• Support service users to access and build social and community networks and activities
• Act as a community connector to local services

What will make you a great fit for this role?

• You will have lived experience of mental illness, either as a carer or as a person who has experience your own mental health need
• You will have good communication skills
• You will be flexible in order to meet the needs of the service users
• You will live within the London Borough of Brent

If would like to express an interest for this opportunity, please complete an application as soon as possible as the advert may close early if we receive a high level of interest.

Who are we?

We’re Rethink Mental Illness, a leading charity provider of mental health services in England. We support thousands of people through our groups, services, policy, campaigns and advice and information. Our work supports us in delivering on our mission: “A better life for everyone severely affected by mental illness.”

We welcome applications from everyone, applicants with lived experience, those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ ), people with a disability, or those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are actively encouraged to apply. We are proud to have also been awarded Disability Confident employer status. We have an ambition of becoming an anti-racist organisation and we recognise there is more to do in ensuring our recruitment is fair and inclusive, which is why we are recruiting new roles in helping us to achieve this.

Role Description

The Forensic Women’s Hub is a new out of hours community space for women 18+ leaving forensic mental health services, open 3 days a week; one evening and every weekend. We will be offering a safe, warm, non-judgemental social environment for women to build meaningful connections and have access to free activities and resources.

As a volunteer your role will be to support individuals using a peer approach by co-facilitating peer-led workshops, offering emotional and social support. By doing this, it provides an opportunity for service users to develop and manage meaningful and purposeful choices in an independent and empowered way.

We are looking for someone who

• Has lived experience of mental health challenges or being in prison / mental health wards / rehab and recovery communities.
• Is non-judgmental, friendly and committed to challenging the stigma faced by forensic service users.
• Is able to provide a welcoming, authentic, and positive experience for all, being inclusive and embracing diversity.
• Feels comfortable engaging with women with mental health challenges / difficult life experiences, by validating strengths and experiences and using empowering language to overcome negative self-talk.
• Is empathic and understanding towards the stigma / social bias's surrounding forensic leavers and their experiences.
• Is willing to tap into their lived experiences and use their stories to inspire hope in others when appropriate.

Time commitment and expenses:

• Flexible hours (shifts to be confirmed). Evening and Weekend availability is required. Please indicate your preferred volunteering day(s) on your application.
• We will provide volunteers with an induction, training, and ongoing mentoring to support them in the role 
• Reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed.

What's in it for the volunteer?

Volunteering at Mind is a fantastic opportunity to get involved with a nationally recognised charity, and volunteering in Safe Space is an opportunity to experience and get involved in crisis support. We provide initial and ongoing training, as well as plenty of opportunities for progression within the organisation. You will also be a part of a supportive team with great awareness of wellbeing and the mental health sector.