Mental Health Volunteer Roles in Northern Ireland

Are you passionate about making a difference and shaping the future for young lives? Are you a professional interested in developing your own mentoring skills?

Mentoring can be a rewarding way to ‘give back’ and share your experiences with someone who could really benefit from hearing an informed, consistent and fresh perspective…possibly something they haven’t had before.

We’re delivering ‘Developing Futures’ a funded 12-week e-mentoring programme for young people aged between 18-24 years from ethnic minority backgrounds and facing mental health challenges, in the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow and Haringey.

We are now seeking new mentors for the programme! We would like individuals from a range of different backgrounds who have the capacity to give a few hours per month to support their mentees. As a mentor you’ll receive Mental Health Awareness, Safeguarding and Mentoring training via webinars ahead of full enrolment. The e-mentoring will happen via regular texts and calls using Brightside’s online youth mentoring platform.

The programme is funded by the Mayor of London’s #NewDealForYoungPeople scheme, in collaboration with Propel, and also supported by the Social Business Trust.

We’re looking for a Trustee to join our growing charity – Families Out Loud! 

What is Families Out Loud (FOL)?

Families Out Loud is a small and growing charity, based in Wiltshire, which is run by a group of people who care about family addiction. We’re here to support those affected by other people’s addiction, by enabling people to speak out, without judgement. If you have lived experience of, or an interest in our cause, we’d love to hear from you!
 
About the Role
 
As a Families Out Loud Trustee, you will share our passion of supporting families affected by someone else’s drug or alcohol use. You will be committed to the Purpose, Vision and Values of Families Out Loud, working with the board to deliver the charity’s 5-year strategic plan. We’re committed to helping clients rebuild their lives, and to reducing stigma so they can feel confident to speak freely about their own experiences. As a Trustee, you will support this mission by reviewing the work we do on a regular basis, understanding that everything we do is for the public benefit, and within the charity’s purpose. You will work collaboratively with the other Trustees to effectively manage resources, and to ensure compliance with charity law and other legal requiremets. 
 
This is a voluntary position, mainly working from home. You will be required to attend monthly Trustee meetings which are currently held virtually. Occasionally you may be required to attend in-person meetings in different locations across Wiltshire. 
 
What are we looking?
 
For this position, we’re looking for someone based near Salisbury who can help us facilitate growth in our local area. Ideally, you’ll have a deep understanding of our community and its unique needs, bringing strong connections within the area. You’ll support the charity to leverage local networks and form lasting relationships, secure funding, and ultimately enhance our charity’s mission. Your reputation and familiarity with the Salisbury area will help build trust and strengthen our charity’s impact on the community. You’ll need strong written and verbal communication skills, and will be able to work as part of a team to make collective decisions. You should be able to think analytically, with a problem-solving approach. Alongside this, due to the nature of the role, you should be able to manage your own time effectively and be well organised.

Alike is a charity with one simple mission: To end the loneliness and isolation that people impacted by cancer experience. We exist to empower our community to make meaningful connections through seamless digital experiences which help people find their sense of belonging. We were created for people impacted by cancer, by people with cancer.

Driven by our mission and inspired by the start-up mentality, we operate with agility and pace. In 2021, we launched our ground-breaking iOS and Android app as a space exclusively for the cancer community to connect. Now we’re looking to scale nationwide, and we need your help to do it. Alike is the only non-for-profit organisation providing a large scale, tailored peer support platform across all ages and diagnoses, whether someone’s facing a sleepless night or a lonely weekend.

We're looking for 1 legal trustee to join our scaling charity! We are particularly interested in people who have a background or experience in UK law, such as IP law or data protection. Read more about what we are looking for in more detail below. If this doesn't sound exactly like you but you feel you have something to give, we'd still love to hear from you. ​

Our Trustees:

Our board of trustees is essential to Alike’s mission. Working as a team, they take shared responsibility for maintaining alignment between our vision, strategy and day-to-day operations. Just as importantly, they support and challenge the executive team, driving Alike’s growth, inspiring new approaches, and helping us scale. Their perspective, insights, passion and collective experience is crucial to our mission as we continue combating loneliness and isolation throughout the cancer community.

Your Responsibilities:

Joining our board of trustees is a commitment to Alike’s mission as well as our products. We need our trustees to not just believe in our potential, but to authentically champion it. Our ideal trustee can clearly envision Alike taking a leading role in combating isolation in the cancer community - and in making a lasting, positive change. We’re looking for active, engaged and experienced trustees to join our existing board during this thrilling period of growth and innovation.

Beyond that, you would be required to collaborate on certain statutory duties (listed below), and to provide advice and guidance throughout Alike’s new initiatives. The power of our board lies in a diversity of viewpoints, so your unique combination of specialist knowledge, skills and experiences is key to success in this role.

We would expect you to contribute this set of skills to the board’s shared responsibility: making sound decisions for the charity’s direction. This would include - but by no means be limited to - scrutinising board papers, leading meetings, chairing discussions and taking an active role in board meetings.

Time Commitment:

• Regular board meetings (6 per year, 3 in-person meetings, 3 virtual)
• Additional time for sub-committee work and strategic planning
• Flexible availability for brief ad-hoc advisory calls or meetings
• Attendance at our Annual General Meeting in central London

Skills and Experience:

• An understanding and acceptance of the legal duties and responsibilities of trusteeship
• An understanding of the challenges faced by those living with cancer and the impact of emerging technology in addressing these challenges
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative working style
• Strategic and critical thinking skills - a problem-solver with a lateral thinking style
• Strong financial literacy 
• An understanding of the tenets of employment law and GDPR compliance at scale 

We need trustees with a diverse range of skills, experience and knowledge, and would love to hear from people who could bring the following:

• Experience in UK law, ideally in employment law, data protection or intellectual property

If you’re interested in joining Alike on our mission to bring comfort, support and community to the millions of people impacted by cancer across the UK, then we would love to hear from you.

You might not necessarily tick every single box - and that’s okay: if you’ve got the passion and you feel confident that this role is for you, please do get in touch anyway. You may still be the perfect fit.