Volunteer with Crisis this Christmas and be there for someone as they start to build a life beyond homelessness. Whether you are the first person a guest meets when they walk through the door looking for support, or you provide a listening ear and companionship, you’ll be making a real difference.
Crisis works at Christmas and all year round in Newcastle to help people experiencing homelessness find their own stable home and access education and training. Every Christmas, local volunteers come together to provide warmth, companionship and vital services to our members (people experiencing homelessness) at one of the toughest times of the year.
In 2023, we provided a bespoke offer to members of Crisis Skylight Newcastle.
We ran a variety of fun, engaging and festive inspired sessions throughout December. Activities available were an extension of our learning offer, including arts, cooking, crafts, and woodwork, as well as other social events such as a film club and a health and wellbeing day.
There was provision of our Information, Advice and Guidance service throughout December, including on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we delivered hot food and gift hampers to members from our hub. We also had a welcoming space for any members who wished to come along to enjoy a hot meal with us.
We worked alongside a team of dedicated volunteers to help us deliver Crisis at Christmas in Newcastle.
In the North East, we are seeing an increase in people approaching us for support due to the loss of private rented accommodation, the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and a shortage of affordable homes. Where once the private rented sector was accessible, now even this is unaffordable to many of the people seeking support. Over the past year over 600 people sought our help in Newcastle, accessing Skylight services, 1 to 1 support, advice, guidance and the skills and resilience to end homelessness for good.
Some of our roles require previous experience or qualifications and others do not.
Professional service volunteers, such as those completing health checks or haircuts will require the relevant qualifications and public liability insurance.
In some roles we may be looking for volunteers with experience of supporting people who are homeless or other vulnerable adult groups. Information about each role will be listed on our website and throughout your volunteer application form. Please check this information before applying to ensure you are applying for the most suitable role for you.
It’s great that you want to support us this Christmas! There are lots of opportunities to support us through fundraising or campaigning work. To find out more, scroll to the bottom of this page or click through to the Crisis this Christmas webpage.
Of course, you are welcome to volunteer in a new shift, location or a different role if we have space available.
If you are feeling poorly we urge you to not volunteer until you are feeling better.
Please email christmas.newcastle@crisis.org.uk if you have any questions.
Our Christmas events are for Crisis members only. If you are homeless or living in temporary accommodation, contact us on 0191 222 0622 to find out about joining our Skylight.
We have volunteering opportunities that come up year-round and are advertised on our volunteering webpages.
If you don’t see anything you are interested in at the moment, please email our Volunteer and Involvement Lead on volunteering.newcastle@crisis.org.uk and they will keep you in mind when new opportunities arise.
Thanks so much for wanting to donate to Crisis Skylight Newcastle!
To do this you can:
Donate via Just Giving: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/crisisne
The voice and expertise of people with lived experience is vital in ensuring our service is truly meeting the needs of our members. We encourage anyone with lived experience to apply for our volunteer roles.
We also involve members and people with lived experience of homelessness in opportunities across the organisation including our Experts by Experience panel. For more details, please speak to your local Volunteer and Involvement Lead.
We do not ask for references for Christmas volunteers.
At Christmas, due to the volume of volunteers recruited, we are unable to provide detailed references. We will only provide a start and finish date for those who have completed a volunteering shift in the previous two years. The only exception to this is for the lead/senior volunteers who work closely with Crisis and members of staff beyond the Christmas service delivery period.
At Christmas, due to the volume of volunteers recruited we are unable to cover expenses.
Many of the roles in our services will require a disclosure check, (either basic or enhanced) - you will be able to see this on the role description. If the role does, we use a digital system to manage this and we will request and pay for it (where payment is needed).
If you have a criminal conviction, this does not automatically mean you cannot volunteer for us. However, we may need to ask you more about the conviction to be able to do a risk assessment and decide if you can or cannot volunteer.
Once you have applied for a role, your application will be reviewed by our Christmas team. We will let you know once a decision has been made and the outcome.
Training varies for each role, however you must attend mandatory volunteer training prior to commencing your shifts. You will also be required to complete any e-learning relevant to your role.
If you think someone is homeless, or at risk of homelessness, you should contact the Newcastle Housing Advice Centre.
Telephone: 0800 1707 008
Email: housingadvicecentre@newcastle.gov.uk
If you think someone is homeless or at risk of homelessness, outside of Newcastle, check your local authority’s website for further details.
If you need to access your volunteer account please visit My Crisis Volunteering. Here you can access information on your shifts, including if you need to cancel or amend them and any learning relating to your volunteering as well as update your contact details.
Events are mainly in Crisis Skylight Newcastle, our city centre warehouse and our hub at Gateshead College.
