Housing and homelessness volunteer roles

                     �� Volunteer Opportunity: Admin Support for Women-Focused Housing Association ��

Are you interested in supporting women and in volunteering in the social housing sector? We’re a small, dedicated housing association focused on empowering women through safe, supportive housing—and we’re looking for a volunteer to help us behind the scenes!

Role: Volunteer Housing Admin Assistant
Location: London
Hours: Flexible – ideally 1–2 days per week

What you’ll do:

· Assist with general administrative tasks (filing, data entry, document management)

· Help maintain volunteer and resident records

· Support the team with scheduling and communications

· Contribute to a warm, inclusive, and organised office environment

What we’re looking for:

· Good organisational skills and attention to detail

· Basic IT skills (email, Word, Excel)

· A friendly, reliable, and discreet approach

· Commitment to our values of inclusion, respect, and empowerment

What you’ll gain:

· Experience in a supportive, women-centred organisation

· Training and ongoing support

· A chance to make a meaningful impact in the lives of women

This is an ideal role for someone lookinfg to gain experience in the housing sector or someone who would like ot deploy ther already existing experience to support women in housing. 

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences. 

Company Description

Housing has been the core activity of Harrison Housing since 1869 when it was established as an almshouse to help older people in need. Today we are also a registered provider, delivering both sheltered accommodation services and general needs accommodation for older people. We also manage an additional portfolio of properties in the London area for other almshouses. Harrison Housing's head office is based in Holland Park, London, UK.

Role Description

We are looking to recruit two new Trustees to join Harrison Housing's Board of Trustees. These are volunteer roles but reasonable out of pocket expenses, associated with carrying out the role, can be claimed for. Our Trustees are responsible for overseeing the Charity's activities, maintaining compliance with regulations, participating in Board and Committee meetings, and ensuring the wellbeing of our residents remains our highest priority. There are a mixture of in-person and remote meetings and Trustees are expected to prepare for and attend them several times a year.

Essential Skills

• Knowledge of the charity or social housing sector and relevant regulations and governance responsibilities.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a diverse team.
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills.
• Time commitment to attend Board meetings and relevant training sessions.

We are particularly keen to hear from those who possess one or more of the following:

• Experience of property management, including the provision of resident-focused housing services.
• Experience of managing an efficient repairs and property maintenance service responsible for responsive, cyclical, and planned works.
• Experience of developing and overseeing effective, long-term charity fundraising strategies.
• Experience in marketing, public relations or communications within a housing provider or charitable organisation.

If you are interested in applying for these roles, please review the recruitment pack, which explains the application process. Harrison Housing is a Disability Confident employer and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds and walks of life, including those who represent the communities we support.

Applications will close at 9am on Wednesday 26th November.

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a friendly, values-driven charity making a real difference to people experiencing homelessness. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and will do our best to meet accessibility needs.

Housing Justice brings together communities and finds solutions to homelessness by building personal connections, a sense of belonging, and creating justice in the housing system. Through compassionate, courageous, and collaborative action, we support over 100 community-run night shelters, deliver our own services to help people find and sustain tenancies, and influence national policy to create a fairer housing system.

We are now seeking two Finance Trustees to strengthen our Board. We’re particularly keen to hear from people with charity finance expertise who can support our Finance Subcommittee and provide insight and guidance to the wider Board.

For the full role description and requirements, please see the attached JD and Person Specification.

It is fantastic that you would like to find out more about volunteering at St Mungo’s. As a Housing First volunteer you will work alongside staff to help clients maintain their tenancies and integrate into the community. You will gain experience of supporting vulnerable adults and will build trust and rapport with clients to empower them to achieve their personal recovery goals.

At St Mungo’s we provide a bed and support to more than 3,150 people in accommodation each night. As well as accommodation services, we also provide a range of services, such as running activities, skills and employment training, and tenancy support, to help people at every stage of their recovery from homelessness. At the heart of all of our services is our commitment for everyone to have a place to call home and fulfil their hopes and ambitions.

What will I be doing? As a Housing First Volunteer you will work alongside staff to help clients maintain their tenancies and integrate into the community. You will gain experience of supporting vulnerable adults and will build trust and rapport with clients to empower them to achieve their personal recovery goals. 

In this role, you will be supporting us with all or some of the following tasks: • Accompanying clients on outings to the library, and other local community activities. • Supporting clients to access services over the phone and online • Supporting clients in a range of practical ways under the guidance of the Housing First worker. • Adhering to St Mungo’s Policies and Procedures at all times. • Promoting St Mungo’s work in an appropriate manner. • Actively promoting equality, diversity and inclusion among staff, fellow volunteers and clients. 

Please see all locations and the time commitments we are currently recruiting for in this role:

• Reading– Wednesday and Fridays, between 9am-5pm, 4 hours per day.

Help shape the future, and be part of ending homelessness.

At SPEAR, we believe everyone deserves a place to call home and the chance to thrive. Our passionate staff and volunteers work every day to support people experiencing homelessness — but we know real, lasting change also depends on strong leadership and diverse perspectives at the top.

That’s why we’re looking for new Trustees to join our Board and help guide SPEAR’s governance, strategy, and impact.

We actively encourage applications from women and people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds, as we’re committed to building a Board that better reflects the communities we serve.

What we’re looking for

We’re particularly interested in candidates with experience or skills in one or more of the following areas:

• Qualified Accountant
• Audit and Risk – with the view to becoming the Chair of our Audit and Risk Committee
• Fundraising
• Safeguarding – with the potential to act as our Safeguarding Lead
• Lived experience of homelessness, or a close connection to someone affected by it

If you have these skills or a passion for making a difference, we’d love to hear from you.

How to apply

Please upload your CV and a supporting statement (maximum two pages) outlining why you believe you’re an excellent fit for the role.

Closing date: 23 November 2025, 23:59pm
Interviews: Early December, date TBC

To learn more, please see our Trustee Recruitment Pack attached.

Trustee needed for Faith in Action Homelessness Project. We are seeking a Trustee to join our committed Board working to end homelessness in Merton.

About Us: FiA runs a twice weekly drop in for homeless and vulnerably housed people and a Winter Night Shelter which works in collaboration with faith groups including a Mosque, a Synagogue, a Hindu Temple and Christian churches to provide overnight accommodation and support to find long term housing solutions.

Our Small Team consists of a Manager, a Winter nightshelter co-ordinator and seven part time staff.  The Trustee team is a very hands on group - many are volunteers at the night shelter or drop in and it is a very committed and passionate team.

We are looking for three new trustees to make our board up to 12. 

The Trustee role

This role involves more than just attending meetings.  We are responsible for:

Setting the strategic direction of the charity

Ensuring tranparency and accountablity

Taking specific areas of responsibility - leading on fundraising, or staff recruitment, or governance or communication and PR for the charity.

We are particularly interested in hearing from individuatls who can lead on the following areas:

1. Fundraising - especially developing partnerships with local businesses

2. Communications - including managing our strategy on social media and community engagement

3, Governance - supporting the development of policies and procedures

4. HR - offering advice on recruitment and management of staff

Shop Volunteering Opportunities - Ilkley

Our shops are at the heart of local communities raising vital funds for our fight against homelessness and bad housing - and they’re powered by our volunteers!

Suggested Involvement: It’s up to you! We have volunteers who support for one hour a week and others who volunteer more. Many people volunteer for a morning or an afternoon each week, but we’ll have a chat about your availability after you’ve applied.

Availability: The shop is open Monday - Saturday 08:00-16:00.

Location: Shop in Ilkley, LS29 9NQ

Supervised by: Community Shop Manager/Assistant Manager

Why volunteer with Shelter? 

Home is a human right. It's our foundation and it's where we thrive. Yet, every day millions of people are being devastated by the housing emergency.

We exist to defend the right to a safe home. Because home is everything.

We’re passionate about what we do, and love giving second-hand clothing a chance of going to a good home. Our shop teams ensure fighting the housing emergency never felt so fun. 

What can I do?

After you’ve filled in an application, we will invite you for an informal chat to find the right role for you. Some roles involve a basic criminal record check being completed during recruitment. Having a criminal record does not mean that you cannot volunteer with us, but it may impact the ways you can get involved.

• Volunteering in the shop

Our retail volunteers are in the middle of it all, and there’s plenty to get involved with. You might be sorting stock, engaging with customers, ringing items through the till, creating fantastic window displays or keeping our shop floor looking organised.

- You will not undergo a criminal record check for this role   

• Volunteering in a leadership role

Our volunteer supervisors help with overseeing the running of our shop and creating a fantastic environment for our customers. You may be involved with coordinating and supporting other volunteers, operating computer systems, and being a key point of contact for the shop.

Skills and Experiences Required:

We welcome applications from people with a wide range of skills and experiences. You don’t need to have volunteered or worked in a shop before as full training will be provided. What’s important to us is that you are a team player, open to learning and willing to follow Shelter’s policies and can be an excellent ambassador for Shelter. We particularly welcome applications from people with lived experience of bad housing or homelessness.

Induction, Learning and Development:

To enable you to take part in this opportunity Shelter will:

• Welcome you with a Volunteer Handbook
• Provide training, induction, and ongoing support from your Shop Manager to help you feel confident in your role
• Refund any out-of-pocket expenses in line with Shelter’s volunteer expenses policy

Benefits of volunteering with Shelter…

• Supporting Shelter in our fight against bad housing and homelessness
• Gain valuable experience in a retail environment
• Getting involved in your local community and being part of a great team
• Build your confidence and develop transferable skills

We aim to respond to all applications within 14 days

If you would like to find out more about the volunteering opportunity before applying, why not pop into the shop or get in touch.

We’re really excited to be recruiting for a Home Search Volunteer to work closely with our new Landlord Liaison Coach at Crisis Birmingham.

In this role, you’ll play a key part in helping people experiencing homelessness to access safe and secure housing by building relationships with local landlords and letting agents.

What you’ll be doing:

• Making initial contact with landlords and letting agents.

• Searching for rental opportunities on platforms such as Gumtree, SpareRoom, and social media.

• Introducing Crisis and explaining what support we can offer to landlords.

• Keeping our contact spreadsheet up to date with details of who has been contacted and the outcomes.

We’re looking for someone who:

• Can volunteer from our office for 3–4 hours per week, ideally on a Tuesday or Thursday.

• Is confident using the internet and making phone calls.

• Is organised, friendly, and comfortable speaking with new people.

This is a great opportunity to gain experience in housing and homelessness services while making a real difference in people’s lives.

If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you!

PLEASE NOTE: This role is only required for the Christmas period initially, however we are also seeking a podiatrist volunteer for our year round service.

Each person who'd like to volunteer needs to sign up individually, and volunteers are not permitted to bring friends, family members, or children along with them on shifts.

If you plan to apply for this role, please note you will need your HCPC registration number and PLI certificate to hand.

You will contribute to ending homelessness by

Crisis Podiatry Volunteers provide a range of treatments and advice for our guests. When you are homeless or insecurely housed, access to healthcare is challenging. 

As part of our preventative health work, you may provide general footcare advice and guidance. You may also treat corns and calluses, mycotic and gryphotic nails, blistering and maceration.

You will be volunteering at our Health & Wellbeing Day(s). These events are an opportunity for members to access a range of health & wellbeing services from the safety and comfort of our Skylight. All treatments are clothed. 

You will be part of a specialist volunteer team which may include: Hairdressers, Masseuses, Optical Care and GPs. 

Our training will show you what to expect when running sessions and the type of sessions that work best for our guests.

Are you looking for a new and exciting opportunity which makes a positive difference to the everyday lives of others?

Then why not consider becoming a director with the Charity of Elizabeth Janes Jones and the David Henry Waring Home?We are an Almshouse and provide 103 units of high-quality accommodation for people of limited financial means in Bedfont, Southwest London and have plans to create a further 31 new units.

Being a director for the Charity of Elizabeth Janes Jones and the David Henry Waring Home is an exciting and challenging role, bringing with it opportunities for applying strategic thinking, planning, creativity, and stewardship which can help guide the Charity to achieve its goals in the management of its properties, a site re-development which is a significant milestone in the Charity’s history.

Our directors are responsible in law for managing the incorporated entity, and as we are a charitable organisation our directors are also trustees at law and have formal responsibilities under the Companies Act 2006.Our directors give their time voluntarily and the positions are unremunerated, but reasonable out of pocket expenses may be allowable.

As a director, you’ll work as part of a board alongside our other directors and will also have opportunities to work with the CEO, staff, and volunteers, adding to the range of knowledge, skills, and experience within the Charity’s team.  As well as bringing fresh ideas to current and future property management and development projects, the director role also has responsibilities for the governance of the Charity, regulatory compliance matters and the effective stewardship of our finances and resources.

We are looking to recruit new directors to the board. If you would like to become a director and have an interest in property and housing, then we’d be delighted to hear from you!The positions require the following commitments:

• Dedicating the necessary time to prepare for and attending scheduled meetings and other obligations.

·Understanding and accepting the legal duties, responsibilities, and liabilities of directorship of the Charity.

·Respecting and upholding the Charity’s values, staff policies and processes and to applying the generally accepted principals of directorship, selflessness, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and personal leadership. 

• Think creatively and identify new directions, whilst preserving the overall purpose of the Charity.

We’re looking for people who are passionate about making a difference to the housing sector we would love to hear from you if you’d like to contribute. Ideally, we are hoping to find volunteers with professional qualifications experience and knowledge in the following areas:

·Practical skills and knowledge of social housing and the housing sector and an understanding of the difficulties face by individuals with disadvantaged backgrounds.

·Practical skills and knowledge of, accounting and budget management, using financial data to run a team, function or organisation and to make financial decisions which optimises budgets and contributes to the smooth running of the operation.

·Charity law and governance, with a practical understanding of a directors, legal duties, responsibilities, and liabilities.

·Familiarity with personal responsibilities and liabilities like that of a director and acting in the best interests of the team and organisation.

·Time management and decision-making skills.

·Management and mitigation of risk, including areas such as finance, media and PR.

·Interacting with others and people skills, and a track record of being able to get along with, boards, employees, service users and the public.

·Working with and interpreting data and management information to develop plans and help make and support the making of informed decisions.

·An understanding of and commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Time commitment: The full Board meets every 2 months and meetings last for about 2.5 hours. In addition, Board members are expected to be members of at least one sub committees. These meet when needed but typically monthly. 

We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate based on disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or other category protected by law.

We’re on the lookout for a volunteer who’s keen to make a real difference in our communities — and pick up some new skills along the way!

This is a unique opportunity to gain a recognised qualification while helping residents at Asquith Court and Charlotte Court enjoy regular chair-based exercise sessions. These schemes don’t currently have any sessions, but they’re really keen to get started — ideally once a month to begin with (and maybe more if it’s a hit!).

We’ll support you every step of the way, including covering the cost of your Amac Certificate in Chair-based Exercise Instructing - which you can complete online at your own pace. Once you’re qualified, we’ll work with you to build a schedule that fits around your availability.

Each session will last up to an hour, and we’ll also cover your travel expenses between the two schemes.

Because you’ll be working with potentially vulnerable residents, you’ll need to be 18 or over to take on this role.

If you’re passionate about helping others stay active, feel good, and have fun — we’d love to hear from you!

PLEASE NOTE: This role is only needed for the Christmas period

Each person who'd like to volunteer needs to sign up individually, and volunteers are not permitted to bring friends, family members, or children along with them on shifts.

If you plan to apply for this role, please note you will need an electronic copy of your recognised qualification and PLI certificate to hand.

You will contribute to ending homelessness by

Our massage service gives our guests a rare chance to release tension, relax and totally unwind. If you are a qualified masseuse, come and share your skills and make a real difference to homeless people this Christmas.

Winter Bucket Collection

16:00 – 20:00, Wednesday 10th December 2025

Reading Station

Do you want to join our movement and defend the right to a safe home? We’re looking for someone who can lead a team of volunteers at events in the community to help us raise money and awareness. The housing emergency hurts everyone. The fight to end it starts here!

The main thing we need you to do is help us fundraise. You’ll be vital to our fundraising efforts for the Winter Appeal by holding collection buckets in public spaces. Your support is not only crucial to our fundraising efforts, but it’s also opportunity to have fun, meet new people and experience some wonderful community spirit while contributing towards our mission. 

You’ll be supporting our bucket collection by helping us to create an energetic and friendly atmosphere to gather donations. You will:

• Support and coordinate the volunteer team on the day at events.

• Deposit cash into Shelter bank account at the end of the event or pass over to Shelter staff member

To enable you to take part in this opportunity we will: 

• Provide you with relevant policies, induction, training and information

• Refund any out-of-pocket expenses in line with Shelter’s volunteer expenses policy 

Skills and Experiences Required 

• Leadership skills and ability to support others in a group

• Passionate about joining the fight for home 

• Feel comfortable handling cash and taking responsibility for depositing into bank

Benefits of volunteering with Shelter 

• Join our fight against bad housing and homelessness and become a force for change! 

• Meet other volunteers locally 

• Build your confidence and develop transferable skills 

PLEASE NOTE: This role is only needed for the Christmas period

Each person who'd like to volunteer needs to sign up individually, and volunteers are not permitted to bring friends, family members, or children along with them on shifts.

If you plan to apply for this role, please note you will need to provide evidence of your qualification OR a reference from your current employer.

You will contribute to ending homelessness by

Our Crisis nail bar gives guests a chance to feel pampered and confident and, along with salon and massage, is one of our busiest and most popular services. 

Nail technicians offer a shape, buff and polish service and can also offer hand massages. We do not offer shellac or nail extensions.