Refugee Support Volunteer - Invercargill

New Zealand Red Cross Refugee Support Volunteers work in teams to provide support for former refugees as they embark on their resettlement journey. Teams are decided upon volunteer availability and they also try to match people with complementary skills.

After completing the training programme, volunteers begin their placement with the newly arrived family or individual. They then work in teams to provide support for up to three months - about 4 hours per week for the first month of their arrival and 1-2 hours for the next two months.

As a Refugee Support Person you will be:

• Helping people navigate life in a new country.
• Setting up a home for a family or individual before they move in.
• Connecting people with schools, English classes, GPs, and other services.
• Assisting the family navigate the city or town using public transport.
• Learning about another culture and sharing your own.
• A friendly, welcoming presence.

What Training is involved?
All Refugee Support Volunteers take part in a comprehensive training programme which is run in each of the settlement areas at varying times throughout the year.

Next planned sessions are to be confirmed.
Sign up and we will be in touch as soon as we have training dates confirmed.

Training location:
Red Cross Service Centre, 242 Dee Street, Invercargill

If you want a rewarding experience where you can gain new skills, foster a positive and inclusive local community and meet new people, join the Red Cross Pathways to Settlement program as a Refugee Support Volunteer.

Requirements

• Warm, friendly manner and enthusiastic.
• A genuine motivation to help and a willingness to learn about cultural differences/traditions/languages.
• Committed to ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of all staff and members of the public.
• You’ll need to be familiar with your local area, open to working cross-culturally.
• You’ll need to be flexible, resourceful and good at taking initiative.
• Two referee checks from people outside of your family.
• Need to commit to volunteer for a period of 3 months.
• Need to commit to at least four hours a week for the first month, and 1-2 hrs following.

You can choose to continue with the same family for another 3 months.

A Police background check is required for this role.

Time commitment

• Training takes approximately 8 hours and is delivered over several evenings and/or weekends. Sometimes training courses are offered during the day.
• It's busiest during the first month (4 hours per week), but tasks are shared amongst your team.
• There are no set shift times for this role.
• The time you spend with a family will vary from week to week.
• You will share responsibilities with your team depending on your availability.

Getting started

The first step is to express your interest by filling out the form below. We will then put you in touch directly with the organisation for more information on the role and how to proceed.

---

Enquire about this role:

First name:

Last name:

Address:

AucklandNorthlandWaikatoBay of PlentyGisborneHawke's BayTaranakiManawatu-WanganuiWellingtonTasmanNelsonMarlboroughWest CoastCanterburyOtagoSouthland

City:

Country: New ZealandAfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBolivia, Plurinational State ofBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, the Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)HondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Republic ofIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinian Territory, OccupiedPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRéunionRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaint BarthélemySaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwan, Province of ChinaTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet NamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

Phone number:

Email address:

Keep me updated with the latest roles and events

Other information (optional):

Demographic information:

Used anonymously for statistics to demonstrate our impact to funders.

Gender: Please select...MaleFemaleGender diverseRather not say

Age group: Please select...Under 1515-1920-2930-3940-4950-5960-6970+Rather not say

Ethnicity: Please select...AfricanAsian (other)AustralianBritishCentral AmericanChineseEuropeanIndianJapaneseKoreanMaoriMiddle EasternNew ZealanderNorth AmericanNZ EuropeanOtherPacific IslesPakistaniRussianSouth AfricanSouth AmericanSri LankanRather not say

Labour status: Please select...Full-time employedPart-time employedNot in paid employment by choiceSeeking employmentRetiredStudentSelf employedVisitorOtherRather not say