Become a WithYou volunteer
To apply for a volunteering role at WithYou, check out our latest volunteering opportunities and apply online.
If you’d like more information about volunteering first:
Become a volunteer for WithYou
Interested in becoming a volunteer for WithYou? Learn about our volunteer opportunities.
Check out volunteer opportunities
Become a volunteer for us
Our volunteers play a vital role in developing a sense of community in our drug, alcohol and mental health support services across England and Scotland.
Working side-by-side to change lives
As a WithYou volunteer, you’ll support people to make positive changes to their drug or alcohol use, or their mental health.
We have a variety of volunteering opportunities across a range of roles, from working directly with clients and families to assisting with reception and administration. Check out our latest volunteer opportunities.
Our volunteers are as varied as the roles they undertake and we encourage applications from all walks of life, including those with lived experience of challenges with drugs or alcohol.
We value lived experience
We welcome the involvement of volunteers with lived experience of challenges with drugs, alcohol and mental health. You’ve been there, you get it, and you can use your story to support others on their recovery journey.
Peer Mentors with lived experience demonstrate visible recovery and act as positive role models. As a Peer Mentor, working alongside staff, you’d help support our clients through things like welcoming people to the service, sharing information about the different types of support options, helping to run support groups, accompanying staff who are visiting clients in the community, or helping to organise events to promote our services.
The benefits of volunteering
By lending your time and skills, you’ll make a profound difference to people’s lives at a time when they most need it - an opportunity to offer support and compassion to people bravely working to turn their lives around.
In addition, you’ll learn new skills, make new friends, build your confidence, and be part of an amazing team. And you’ll gain valuable experience and insight into the inner workings of community drug, alcohol and mental health services.
"I went through the volunteer training and started straight away. I now co-run two groups and it is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had."
"The staff are incredibly supportive and have allowed me to try out many different roles so I can really find my footing and focus on the things I’m most passionate about."
"The possibilities at WithYou are endless and the work we do is never redundant. It always makes a difference and fills me with pride."
Volunteering at WithYou - how does it work?
The majority of our volunteering opportunities are for a few hours a week and continue on an ongoing basis, but we have a variety of roles that allow volunteers to give their time flexibly, whether that be 1-2 days a week or supporting one-off events.
Most of our roles do not require any specific skills or experience. We always specify the skills and qualities we are looking for in the role description. Some of our roles may require volunteers to have lived experience of drugs and alcohol as part of providing peer support to our clients.
Unless stated, all our volunteers undergo a standard training and induction process to help prepare and support them to fulfil their role. This will include a mixture of face-to-face and online training modules as well as any additional training relevant to a role. As a volunteer, you will have a member of staff who you can go to for help and support.
All volunteering opportunities are open to people aged 18 and over.
Absolutely! Our volunteers come from diverse backgrounds, and we encourage applications from individuals from all walks of life, including those with lived experience of substance misuse.
WithYou has a policy in place to ensure that ex-offenders are treated fairly. Having a criminal record is not, in itself, a barrier to volunteering. We consider each offence individually and will have a conversation with you to understand the circumstances involved and anything else you would like to discuss with us.
Occasionally a conviction may impact some aspects of the volunteer role, but we are committed to recognising the skills and experience volunteers can bring to our work and will do our best to find a suitable role for you or make adjustments to the role you applied for.
Volunteers should not be disadvantaged in any way whilst volunteering for WithYou, including financially. We will reimburse you all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred whilst carrying out volunteering activities that are in line with WithYou’s volunteer expenses policy.
Yes. You are free to volunteer while you are receiving benefits, as long as the work you do is unpaid and you only receive out-of-pocket expenses. Volunteers must tell their Benefits Office about their volunteering.
There are lots of different volunteer roles to choose from, depending on the needs of our services and the experience and skills that you can bring.
If you want to apply for a volunteering role, complete an online Application Form. If your application indicates that you have the skills and interests we are looking for, you’ll be invited to take part in an informal interview. The interview gives us time to get to know you and understand your motivations for volunteering.
If you are selected to volunteer with us, we ask for two references. You’ll also be required to complete a DBS/PVG check at the appropriate level to the role that you have applied for. (We’ll guide you through this).
Some of our wonderful volunteers
Information for existing volunteers
If you're an existing WithYou volunteer, you can log into our Better Impact system to record your volunteering hours, check for updates, or edit your personal details
Learning and Development: Login to your With You Learning account to complete your e-Learning modules and access additional learning opportunities: With You Learning login
Expenses: Login in to your Concur account to claim any out of pocket expenses: Concur login.