Volunteers at Cathedral Archer Project turn their lives around

The Cathedral Archer Project (CAP) is a warm, welcoming and safe place for homeless adults to come to during the day.  They offer crisis support, health and well being support and the opportunity for clients to change their lives and move away from homelessness.  Tracy Viner from the Project tells us how the money from the Social Action Fund will help change the lives of the most vulnerable people in Sheffield.

Our volunteer programme forms a key part of the move-on development opportunities.  It is a structured programme that takes a chaotic client that may be dependent on drugs and/or alcohol and gives them a sense of self-worth and respect.  Through the programme the client volunteers learn about boundaries and confidentiality, take on positions of responsibility and trust whilst working with their peer group.  They are monitored on development programmes and do both accredited and unaccredited training. 

This programme is evolving and has been built on many years’ experience of working with the homeless.  It is proving very successful, not in every case straight away but we don’t expect that with this client group. 

We think this is the only place where people still dependent on drugs and alcohol can take on a volunteer role and learn about being in a position of trust and have some responsibilities.  Volunteering at the project is often the first real step to their deciding to change their lives, work to overcome their dependency, make their accommodation secure and start to plan for a positive future rather than just living day to day to survive. 

S attended the project for 5 years. During this time she was a very challenging young woman who had a heart of gold & also great potential, which unfortunately was obscured by her drug use. She began volunteering at the project, in the kitchen/cafe. S had a serious drug habit, she also led a very chaotic life & had little structure to her days. When she first began volunteering her reputation with other clients was very negative.  She did not let this hamper her, and persevered with the challenge of changing people’s negative perceptions of her.  S managed to gradually reduce her drug use, and began volunteering on a daily basis. Her mannerisms began to change & rather than shouting & swearing at people she learnt to communicate calmly & effectively. This change was noted by many, including other service providers. S engaged more with her Mum, who was delighted with the changes in her, and she was able to resume contact with her young daughter.     

S is one example of many going through our volunteer programme, she now has a dream and wants to run her own bakery selling cakes, a real dream that is achievable.  Through SAF funding we can continue to develop this volunteer programme. 

Another example of how the programme has impacted on a client volunteer is C who joined the Volunteer Programme mid 2011. C was interested in developing his skills & filling his free time with constructive activities. C was still scripted, on a heroin substitute.  He did really well initially, however, when he attempted to come off of his script he really struggled. This led to his attendance at volunteering becoming very sporadic. This was evidenced in his star-outcomes (a specially designed performance tool for this client group). C discussed the issues he faced with the volunteer coordinator. It was agreed that he would return to the project to volunteer on a weekly basis, with extra support from the staff. This has proven beneficial to him and he has now resumed his role and attends twice weekly.        

Part of the funding is to share our experience and expertise with other organisations so they can benefit from the development work we have been doing.  We are planning how to do this through the Homeless and Volunteering networks.  We hope that when we are ready to do this some of our volunteers will be able to be part of the information sharing, tell their stories and be the real proof that the volunteer programme has changed their lives.