NewLink Wales
Substance Misuse Volunteering & Training
Testimonials from Placement Agencies
"Prior to NewLink South Wales opening, we used to recruit and train volunteers in-house and have maintained a list of about forty volunteers for the past ten years. Our experience showed that the kind of people who have the gumption to volunteer are also those who are best in the job market, and so a very high percentage went on to obtain full-time posts within the caring professions. So we found we had a constant need to provide training. For a small agency with limited resources, this was a massive headache and so we heralded the arrival of NewLink South Wales with welcome arms.
We have had a constant trickle of new volunteers over the past few years and each offers something new and unique. Some have sat at reception, other have taken on a counselling caseload. Quite a number have joined our relief workers shifts while some have run groups and others have acted as befrienders in our CHUMS scheme. We offer a range of different options and try to find places where the skills, experience and requirements of the volunteer can match up with the various elements of the therapeutic regime we manage.
The value of volunteers is twofold; firstly they bring a range of skills and enthusiasm of their own and new faces for our client group and almost as important, they can provide an anchor so that the therapeutic team employed by the agent can expand and develop their work too.
Our agency would not survive without its volunteers. A large percentage of our current staff team started off as volunteers. Those individuals recommended to us by NewLink South Wales are helping us to maintain and develop key therapeutic goals and we are very grateful to everyone involved, thank you all!"
Dave Hiscox
Manager
South Glamorgan Council on Alcohol
Dyfrig House
"Volunteer workers are essential for the smooth running of Inroads.
It also offers an excellent placement and opportunities for volunteers
to gain skills in working with individuals experiencing drug problems.
Since Inroads was established in 1995, the training and selection of volunteers
was an enormous task, and one that we always knew that we needed to invest
more time into. When NewLink South Wales established their volunteer training
programme it was able to provide that extra input that we felt was essential.
We now have access to volunteer workers who have been trained to a high standard in all the core competencies essential in working in an environment with vulnerable people.
Many have passed through our doors, many have stayed and many have gained paid employment in related fields. Indeed our newest paid member of staff is one of Shirley's protégées!
We look forward to providing many more placement for volunteers from NewLink South Wales and long may the project continue providing such an excellent and much needed resource."
Steve Lyons
Project Co-ordinator
Inroads, Cardiff Street Drugs Project
"The Fitzhamon Centre has taken volunteers from the Substance Misuse Volunteering and Training Project (now NewLink South Wales) since April 1990. Agencies such as The Fitzhamon Centre have long benefited from the commitment of volunteers but the process of recruitment always presented difficulties in respect of being completely sure about the needs, skills and future development of the individuals concerned.
NewLink South Wales serves to identify an appropriate placement and focus on the specifics of the involvement by the volunteer; it provides impartial support, advice to the agency if needed and ensures that both parties remain mutually satisfied with the work which is carried out.
We currently use two volunteers who have shown that the background of basic training in NewLink South Wales provided them with the confidence to function as part of a staff team. By recruitment via NewLink South Wales they have also proved to have that specific interest and commitment to volunteering with a vulnerable client group - the scheme has assisted us greatly in providing our services to the community."
Steve Young
Centre Manager
South Glamorgan Council on Alcohol
The Fitzhamon Centre
"The Community Alcohol Team has benefited from working with NewLink South Wales over the last two years. Shirley Yendell has been able to liaise with our agency in order to have a clear understanding of our needs and our expectations of volunteers in order to successfully recruit and select appropriate counsellors/workers for us.
The fact that recruitment, selection and initial substance training is done by NewLink South Wales saves CAT considerable working hours! This helps us to continue our commitment to providing a quality service to our clients - enriching our team with unpaid workers helps us to reflect more closely the needs of the local community in terms of ethnic origin, age, gender and life experiences of our workers.
We look forward to continued joint working in the future."
Jan Price
Senior Counsellor
Community Alcohol Team
NewLink Wales
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