Wayfinder Volunteer Information

What is Wayfinder?

Wayfinder is a volunteer-led programme supporting people affected by homelessness by building long-term relationships and connection. TNT are working in partnership with the wider Together Network and the Church Urban Fund, initially with three years' funding.

"Simply building more houses- whilst important- is not sufficient to address the prolonged housing issues this country continues to face. We need more truly affordable homes and stronger communities that people can be proud of and where they can feel safe and welcome, put down roots and flourish."
Archbishop of Canterbury-Coming Home Report, 2020

There is a plethora of organisations in Notts working to support those experiencing street homelessness and 'hidden' homelessness, often through intervention and recovery. There is less support around the prevention area of homelessness, particularly in supporting people to retain tenancies as they move into accommodation.

Wayfinder is founded in recognition of the importance of relationships in breaking the cycle of homelessness.

How Can I Get Involved?

Essentially there are three main ways to get involved. Firstly, we are looking for volunteers who are able to offer 1-2 hours a week to walk alongside someone as they break new ground in their lives. After a thorough training and induction programme, each volunteer is matched with an individual who has been referred. The matching process takes into account skills needed, skills offered, interests of both and geographical accessibility.

As a volunteer with Wayfinder you will be given the opportunity to share your experience and knowledge to support people to move on with their lives and in return, we will provide you with:

- Access to a variety of training

- Signposting to information

- Regular volunteer meet-ups

- On-call support

The second way to get involved is as a referrer. You can read more on our Wayfinder page if you have identified someone who may benefit from someone to walk alongside them.

Thirdly, if you are a church or organisation leader, you can become a 'Wayfinder hub' (see below)

Wayfinder Hubs- In Partnership With...

Our partnerships with local churches and organisations are of great importance to our Wayfinder programme. We recognise that there is a high quantity of quality work being delivered in communities and we want to create a model of delivery for Wayfinder that enables us to continue being a resource to these organisations. The creation of Wayfinder “Hubs” has been proposed as a way of being able to support community organisations to provide befriending as part of their wider services. This integrated approach enables a functioning partnership between TNT, our Wayfinder programme, and the local organisation, and provides us with a physical location in the community to deliver our programme.

As a programme of work, Wayfinder is blessed with resources which we want to be able to share with other organisations and our capacity to provide volunteer supervision and management is something we feel could be of great importance to smaller charities and churches.

At the heart of what we do, is the desire to build relationships and community which we hope to demonstrate through the connections that we make. Our aim is to create 4/5 hubs across the county that will flourish into thriving communities and be places of transformation for both our volunteers and the people who participate in our service.

More Info

If you would like more information, or would like to access the recording from the online Volunteers' Event on 29th March, email Jemma Baldry: jemma@transformingnottstogether.org.uk