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Friends Without Borders (Portsmouth)

The role of Caseworkers at Friends Without Borders

FWB are very keen to recruit two additional volunteers to join their current Caseworker team at the FWB drop-in every Thursday. Caseworkers play a vital role in helping Friends Without Borders (FWB) fulfill its mission to offer relief to asylum seekers, refugees and vulnerable migrants who are suffering hardship, or distress. Caseworkers help in providing general assistance, financial support, referrals and other help. At our weekly Thursday drop-in sessions, they work closely with our clients and their families to identify needs and help them access services, including housing, medical services, schooling and provide general administrative and personal assistance. Please note that this is a volunteer post.

Their primary responsibilities include:

• Assessing clients’ situations, understanding the issues and problems facing our clients to establish what needs they have
• Developing plans to address these needs
• Liaising with other services and organisations
• Providing advocacy and support
• Where appropriate, authorizing FWB to provide financial assistance

Caseworkers need to have the following skills and abilities:

• A strong commitment to help others especially those in need
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to build rapport with clients and advocate on their behalf
• A good active listener
• Well-organised and able to multitask to manage multiple cases simultaneously
• Empathetic and so able to put themselves in another’s shoes, whilst still able to cope with distressing news
• A good team player and supportive to their colleagues
• Socially perceptive so able to assess a client’s situation and identify potential unspoken needs or risks; for example, identifying unsafe living situations, signs of mental illness etc.
• Be able to co-ordinate with multiple agencies and make responsible arrangements for individuals through other agencies
• Computer literate with experience of database entry and accurate record-keeping

Rewards

• Satisfaction in occasionally being able to help a client move forward in their lives
• Meeting brave and interesting people
• Widening one’s knowledge of the world and where people come from
• Opportunities for training and for deepening knowledge and understanding of the English asylum system and other relevant subjects

Training and support will be given for this role. Anyone interested should contact Rachel McCormick at office@friendswithoutborders.org.uk or for further discussion call 07546 502143 (office hours, Mon – Thurs).

Alternatively email Coleen Le on: deputy@friendswithoutborders.org.uk or call her on 07799187091