User Voice in association with ICPR held an event which gave service users and third sector organisations the chance to share their views and experiences about how to make the most of volunteering opportunities.
Representatives from a wide variety of charities and third sector organisations shared their concerns that volunteering opportunities were not as beneficial as they could be, and that their adverts only reached a small proportion of service users. Young adults with experience of the criminal justice system, and that work on User Voice councils, gave valuable insights into what makes a good volunteering opportunity and offered advice on how to make them accessible to a wider variety of young adults.
Volunteering in the community is an extremely valuable way for service users to gain experience that can help facilitate their move towards employment. Having the opportunity to discuss these issues with the people providing the positions will help maximise the reach and benefit of voluntary roles for both the organisations and service users.Many thanks to the ICPR for co-producing this extremely successful event!
