Allotment Volunteer

Waythrough launched in October 2024 following the merger of Humankind and Richmond Fellowship. Our vision is to break down the barriers that stop people getting the support they need to live a life they value. We tackle poverty and disadvantage in communities, through mental health, drug and alcohol, housing and related support.

We have almost 200 services around England – and nearly 3,500 amazing staff and volunteers who run them. Every year our services support around 125,000 people.

Allotment Volunteer – Reach North
Location: Gillingham

Reach Drug and Alcohol Service is the commissioned community drug and alcohol provision for Dorset and is delivered in partnership between Waythrough, Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership and Essential Drug and Alcohol Services. Reach provides a range of support, interventions and treatments for adults and young people wanting to make positive changes to their drug and/or alcohol use, as well as supporting family members and running campaigns and events that raise awareness of addiction and celebrate recovery in the community. This role is based with the adults service at our Gillingham Hub.

About the role
If you enjoy gardening, recognise the benefits it can bring to our wellbeing, and know how to make other people feel welcome, this is the volunteer role for you! We are looking for someone to support with a new allotment project in Gillingham. This role can also be combined with a Recovery Support Volunteer role.

Gardening is part of the holistic recovery offer at Reach, offering the people we support time to connect with each other, with nature, to be more active and to grow and eat the produce grown on site.

Activities in this role may include:

• Help with setting up and packing away before and after each session
• Providing support and guidance on all things allotment and gardening related; including what to plant when and how to look after the growing plants
• Suggesting how to cook the produce and sharing potential recipes
• (co)Facilitate the sessions, ensuring activities are safe and risk assessed as appropriate
• If you choose to combine the role with Recovery Support Volunteer, activities may also include:
  • Welcoming and helping to put people at ease, offering a hot drink and a chat
  • Being the first point of contact for a person reaching out and asking for support for themselves or a loved one, face to face or via the phone
  • Co-facilitating groups
  • Making welfare calls to people we support
  • As you gain experience and confidence, you may move on to helping with assessments or offering one to one support to individuals, empowering them to identify and achieve recovery goals

Full training, coaching and ongoing support will be provided though we do ask that you bring great communication skills; an understanding of addiction, recovery and associated complexities that people may face; and good IT skills.

• Regular supervision and support
• Induction and access to online and face to face training
• To learn and practice new skills within a teamwork setting
• To feel part of a team and the wider Waythrough organisation
• Reasonable travel expenses reimbursed with proof of journey
• Opportunities to progress and experience other areas of Waythrough's work

Waythrough (Formerly Humankind) is an equal opportunities employer
We value unique perspectives and experiences that everyone can bring, and fully understand the strength in diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, regardless of race, gender, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or disability. If you have a genuine passion for working for us, we want to hear for you. We also welcome applications from people with lived experience with substance use. If you require support with your application, please contact the Recruitment Team at people.recruitment@waythrough.org.uk.

Applications Close Date: 02 Mar 2025

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