good life, good death, good grief

Scottish Compassionate Communities Toolkit

Supporting Volunteers

Compassionate Inverclyde Voices: The Narrative from a local perspective highlights that volunteers feel cared for, and care for each other:

"There are also numerous support mechanisms for the volunteers, from being able to pick up the phone, the regular support circles for the NODA companions through to the camaraderie and genuine friendship between the volunteers:

Sarah: I was thinking about it on the way up here. Everything is very low key. I use the term gentle. That means that people like myself feel supported, secure and able to pick up a phone and it won’t matter how silly or whatever there will be somebody there if you’re not sure (individual interview)"

Compassionate Inverclyde Voices: The Narrative from a local perspective, p.18

Evaluation of the project suggests that the volunteers who are part of Compassionate Inverclyde receive many benefits from their involvement with the project:

  • Sense of belonging (to a specific initiative, CI in general and/or the community)
  • Sense of achievement
  • Sense of purpose
  • Sense of significance / feeling valued
  • Feeling listened to
  • Improved confidence and self-esteem
  • Improved physical health
  • Improved mental health
  • Feeling less alone
  • Getting out and about
  • Improved social connections
  • Giving and receiving kindness
  • Giving something back
  • More able to think and talk about dying, death and bereavement

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