Active8 Volunteer Programme

The volunteer programme for Rethink is an empowerment imitative operating throughout Northern Ireland to help people experiencing mental illness and their carers. The programme which is Big Lottery Funded, runs from 2008 – 2013 and will recruit volunteers who will be offered opportunities to participate in one or more of the 8 stages of Active8 outlined below:

Left to Right – Kelly Martinez (Active 8 Volunteer), Claire Eakin (Rethink Volunteer Coordinator), Rosie Gaw (Active 8 Volunteer)1. Self Management Programme:
Is user led, user run peer advocacy programme, which is expected to help individuals with coping skill enabling them to manage the daily challenges of living with a sever mental illness. This is a two, six week programme.

2. Carers Recovery Programme:
Will look at confidence building, life skills and more specifically aims to support carers in achieving the balance between caring for someone with sever mental illness and achieving their own quality of life. This is a two, six week programme.

3. Life Skills:
To enable individuals in the areas of

  • Stress Management
  • Assertiveness
  • Welfare Rights
  • ICT training

4. Volunteering in House:
Will look to placing people in one of Rethink’s services, or who have an interest in

  • Fundraising
  • Administration
  • Website Building
  • Befriending 

5. Volunteer Opportunities with external agencies:
This aims to support individuals to actively engage within their local communities, it hopes to identify and support pre-vocational skills.

6. Group Facilitation:
To enable individuals in running their own groups, giving practical experience in minute taking and chairing.


7. Committee Representation:
To encourage engagement and representation on external forums, aiming to ensure that individuals directly affected by sever mental illness are actively engaging in their local community.

8. Media Volunteering:
Aiming to train individuals in all aspects of the media, this will help to reduce the Stigma of mental illness, for some this may be a refresher course.   It will also look at areas of TV media and creative writing.

Contact:
Claire Eakin, Volunteer Coordinator (Rethink NI) claire.eakin@rethink.org
TEL: (028) 90 315060