Sanctuary Supported Living
Sanctuary Supported Living Stockton Carers Service is part of the Sanctuary Group. The service we provide is for adult carers over the age of 18 who provide unpaid care to an adult over the age of 18 who resides in the Stockton area.
The service was commissioned from the Local Authority in April 2014. Our carers service has a respite service providing respite to carers and we undertake activities with the person cared for, which enables the carer to have a break and do things they are unable to do due to their caring role.
We have a volunteer service and we have a bank of volunteers who are a vital resource for the services we provide with the services. We have client groups each week and a monthly lunch club for carers to come along too. Volunteers are a fantastic and extremely vital resource to the services we provide.
As a service we are continuously developing client involvement and always wanting to improve and we like our volunteers to get involved in development of the services we provide. Volunteers can contribute to the running of the services on an administrative level if they have skills to utilise within the office.
In the past we have worked with volunteers from the University and they arranged the Christmas party for the carers in our Middlesbrough Service. This was a fantastic day and the volunteers took care of every aspect of the day. The impact this had on our organisation was the free time staff had to carry out their working role and not have to worry about the annual events we hold. The impact was incredible on the clients due to the positive feedback received.
We would advise other organisations who are looking for University volunteers to meet with volunteers and ensure you both know what you want out of the experience. Ensure you have a task in mind for the volunteers so they have something to do while at your organisation and ensure that all parties benefit from the volunteers. Be supportive and available.
