Lewes District
Join our friendly Volunteer Team!
With the cost-of-living crisis impacting households across the Lewes District, we need more volunteers to help support local people who are struggling to cope. We couldn’t support our local community without our volunteers. The time they give helps more than 3,000 people a year with more than 9,000 problems, from debt to housing, benefits and employment problems.
Brilliant Training
We offer excellent training and support empowering you to make a real difference to your community – so join us now.
A richly rewarding experience
“Volunteering with Lewes CA for me means working with a friendly and helpful bunch of people”
Great skills
You don’t need any specific qualifications or experience. You just need to be friendly and approachable and have respect for others.
Opportunities
Advisor
Interview clients to explore and assess their situation. Identify and communicate relevant information and options the client may have to help them find a way forward. Assist with Research & Campaigns work
IT Support
Help staff and volunteers become fully familiar with our IT systems, help with day-to-day IT issues, as well as supporting larger IT projects.
We are recruiting a Research and Campaigns trustee to join our board of trustees. You can find more information here
Administration
Support advisers and supervisors with administrative tasks such as
drafting letters, filing, booking appointments, processing client data and supporting grant applications.
We have an opportunity to join our engaged and committed Board of Trustees in setting the policy and strategic direction, setting targets, and evaluating the performance of our service in Lewes District.
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Trainer
Support the volunteer recruitment and training process from initial enquiry from prospective volunteers through the initial training period.
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Not sure which role is right for you? Why not take our Volunteer Quiz
A day in the life
One of our most experienced advisers shares a typical day volunteering for us
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Like many, since Covid my day begins at the kitchen table. I log in early to read the Morning Meeting Notes which set out changes in grants, food bank availability, benefits, housing, and so on. At 9:15, I answer the Advice Session Supervisor’s call to the online daily team meeting with four volunteer advisers, two trainees and a debt worker. The Supervisor tracks enquiries pouring in by phone and email, allocating clients to volunteers. We call on her if we need help. My job is to work through a list of both new clients, and existing clients needing further help.
First is a client, the victim of a serious crime, whose physical and mental ill-health has forced them to give up work. Their partner is unable to work after an accidental injury severely affected their mobility. They have a young child with behavioural issues, and are struggling to keep up with their mortgage repayments.
I go through possible benefits for each family member. The partner has applied for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a disability benefit. The required evidence form is a daunting 50 pages but I arrange a form-filling appointment with a trained adviser. I talk the client through ways to maximise income, and possible debt options. The client is distressed and the call takes over an hour. I write up the case before moving on to the next.
Write-ups detail issues and advice given, and are kept on our secure data base. We note sources from our continually updated web resources in order to demonstrate that advice given is up-to-date. Case notes enable another adviser to see exactly what is going on, and state clearly what advice has already been given, and why. Write-ups are sample checked by the supervisor, and some are audited by Head Office.
My subsequent calls include a new mother wrongly informed that she cannot claim Child Benefit and a woman being stalked. It’s nearly 5 when I finish and lock up my laptop and notebook. Satisfaction comes from feeling I’ve done as well as I can for our clients.