Youth Mentor Volunteer

• Minimum commitment of 9 months
• Be part of an innovative program that supports youth experiencing homelessness
• Based in Broadmeadows
• Volunteer (unpaid role)

WHY VOLUNTEER AT LAUNCH HOUSING

We have an ambitious and singular mission to end homelessness. We aim to get people housed, keep them housed, and be an influential voice on ending homelessness. We are a secular, independent provider of choice for clients and strive to be the go to organisation on homelessness for government, media, philanthropy, private donors and the community. We believe housing is a basic human right and our values of empowerment, fresh thinking, agility, leadership and courage underpin everything we do.

If you want an opportunity where you can make a real difference, and you are passionate about our mission to end homelessness, then consider volunteering with Launch Housing!

Launch Housing is working to become more trauma informed and as a leading employer in the homelessness sector, it is important to let you know that you will hear stories of distress, hardship, trauma, or violence when working with us. We encourage you to reflect on how this may impact you when considering applying to volunteer. Sustaining the Health & Well-being of our people including volunteers is our priority. We provide adequate training & supervision, Wellbeing Days, and access to Employee Assistance Program.

THERE ARE MANY BENEFITS FOR VOLUNTEERING:

Flexible – you can organise your own timetable

Life changing experience – you’ll contribute to ending homelessness in Melbourne and will give you a sense of fulfilment and purpose

Fun and Positive environment – you’ll meet warm and friendly team members who are here to help

Good for your well-being and mental health – research says that volunteering can help fight stress, loneliness and depression and can help improve your confidence

Share your talents – you can utilise your talent and experience as well as learn new skills in a supportive culture

HOW YOU CAN HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE

The Education First Youth Foyers (EFYF) are an innovative, partnership model to help young people experiencing homelessness build sustainable lives by providing and combining affordable accommodation, education, training and employment. Youth Foyers help break the cycle of homelessness, create opportunities, and help young people lead independent and fulfilling lives. Launch Housing in partnership with the Brotherhood of St Laurence, has opened two Education First Youth Foyers, Holmesglen Foyer based at Holmesglen Institute’s Waverley campus and the Education First Youth Foyer at Kangan Institute, Broadmeadows.

Both foyers accommodate 40 young people between 16 and 24 years in studio style apartments with communal living and support service areas supervised by trained staff 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Key services include Education, Employment, Health & Wellbeing, Housing & Living, Social Connections and Civic Participation coaching support and mentoring.

This role will be based in the Broadmeadows Kangan Institute Foyer.

As a Youth Mentor, you can provide valued support to launch Housing and make a difference to the lives of people experiencing homelessness. You will spend time engaging in social and recreational activities with a designated mentee.

You will:

• Share knowledge about your own education, career, and life experiences to assist the mentee in own education, career and life journey.
• Help promote your mentee’s self-esteem and identify/recognise their strengths.
• Help with goal-setting, suggest possible courses of action, support the mentee in making choices, and help mentee develop skills.
• Participate in program evaluation.
• Provide feedback to the Relationship Officer and complete a template noting outcomes of each session. Advise staff if you do not feel comfortable with any aspects of your role or if you have identified issues that need to be addressed by staff or issues that may be a safety issue to yourself and the participant.
• Agree to abide by the Mentoring Agreement and the Mentor Code of Conduct and behave in accordance with all Launch Housing policies and procedures, including the Code of Conduct Volunteer Agreement and Volunteer Guide.
• Uphold the principles of the Child Safe Code of Conduct, ensuring that Child Safe Standards are always translated into operational practices.

To be successful in this volunteer role, you will possess the following key selection criteria:

• Have an understanding of or a commitment to learn the Advantaged Thinking approach to working with young people and commitment to the program.
• Offer a generous and positive outlook and have the ability to explore and encourage others to follow their own interests.
• Have developed relationship skills, communication skills and be knowledgeable, while being able to engage and communicate in a non-judgmental manner.
• Previous experience of working with young people or children OR a lived experience of being involved in youth programs is highly desirable.
• Links to networks to support the mentoring relationships and program is highly desirable.
• Ability to commit to the volunteer role for 9-12 months.
• Demonstrated commitment to the values of Launch Housing and our mission to end homelessness.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for this opportunity, please click on the “Apply Now” button. Please submit a covering letter addressing the key selection criteria and your CV.

Please note shortlisting will occur on a rolling basis, so please don’t delay in submitting your application.

If you need additional information about this role, please contact Ann Howie on [email protected] using the subject line: Youth Mentor Volunteer enquiry via EthicalJobs.

A position description is attached.