Castle Point, Rayleigh and Rochford Partners

Employ-Ability is a specialist employment support charity working with people with physical and mental health conditions. Our purpose is to support people to secure and retain employment. We promote employment as it is both a normal aspiration and because it is a proven method of supporting recovery. It is a completely free service and we are in partnership with the NHS to help people in local communities across Essex. Our employment services follow a delivery model known as Individual Placement Support (IPS) This model is used across the globe to help people find paid, sustainable work, working with the individual's job preferences.

We provide Essex residents (excluding Southend-On-Sea and Thurrock) with access to health checks; stop smoking services; weight management courses; and emotional health and wellbeing support. All of our services are free.

The Megacentre Rayleigh is a Christian charity who welcomes everyone – of any faith or no faith.  We exist to bring Joy, Hope and Life to our community.  We do this through our charity team which includes family, youth and community workers offering a range of free, confidential services for families, children, young people and the wider community. 

We offer support around all sorts of topics, including Special Educational Needs, mental health worries in adults, children and young people, family life in general and, through our Community Resilience Hub, information, support and advice from us and our community partners.

Please do get in touch with any worries or concerns.  We want to strengthen our community, build resilience, reduce isolation and support each other.

Trust Links is your local mental health, wellbeing and environmental charity. We work across Essex to support people experiencing mental health difficulties, families, and other community members with main bases in Southend, Castle Point, Rochford, Basildon and Braintree. We’re committed to building stronger communities and transforming lives. 

Supporting the environment through sustainable living is at the core of our work. 

If in the boroughs of Basildon and Braintree, you can access our Growing Together Therapeutic gardening project and amazing volunteering opportunities with Greening Basildon and Environmental Activities Volunteering.

Our other sites in Essex offer Growing Together therapeutic gardening, recovery courses, groups and peer support with REACH, and youth and family projects. 

Visit our website for full details about our projects.

Become a Family Mentor!

Do you have an interest in helping people & supporting your local community of Southend-On-Sea? Do you think you can spare some time in your week to support a family as a volunteer?

Volunteering Matters, the Family Mentors project in Southend, recruits and trains their volunteers to help support families. (Volunteers from outside of the Southend area would have to travel to to Southend where our project is based)

Our Volunteers act as trusted mentors, providing consistent emotional and practical support to families in their homes every week. Volunteers tailor their support to the unique needs of each family, building on strengths, and promoting resilience.

We do not require you to have previous experience, as we feel our volunteers can make use of their life experiences and relevant skills to support our families, as well as the training provided.

This is a great opportunity for anyone wanting to increase their experience in mentoring and may wish to have a career in Social Work, support work or counselling.

This opportunity fits around your availability – you will need to commit to 1 – 2 hours per week for 6 – 12 months. Usually a year’s support is required.

Some of our volunteers can also offer telephone support for the family, if this is preferred by the volunteer, and the family being supported.

Aim of project……..

• Helping families to be independent
• Assisting with practical activities e.g. Budgeting, Parenting, Routine Building
• Build a relationship of trust and mutual respect through the tasks they do and through regular contact with the family
• Support families and help them to be aware of and make contact with useful, local resources

What Volunteering Matters will give you……

• Training which will include: Safeguarding, Building Self Esteem & more
• Further on-going relevant training opportunities
• Reimbursement of travel and any other agreed “out of pocket” expenses
• On-going staff member support

What you will get from the role….

• A huge amount of satisfaction
• Helping to support the local community
• Being part of a community
• Training and experience
• Job reference from us (after you have volunteered for us for 1 year)

Role requirements:

• Aged over 18 years old
• Able and willing to commit to visit/speak with the family once every week, for a minimum of 6 months
• Willing to provide references and complete a DBS (criminal record) check, paid for by Volunteering Matters
• Have an interest in helping people, both parents and children

Commitment

This opportunity fits around your availability - you only need to commit to between 1 – 2 hours per week for 6 - 12 months. Usually a year's support is required. Please note: Due to current safeguarding procedures, volunteer support will only be over the telephone although some support is returning to face to face.