Residential Cover
Volunteer

Role Summary

Separated  young  people  seeking  asylum  are  at  risk  from  a  variety  of
factors which we aim to address by using a holistic support approach.
At  Baca,  we  support  our  young  people  to  achieve  an  increase  in
personal  safety,  social  engagement  and  engagement  with  education.
We  also  support  them  to
improve  their  physical  and  emotional
wellbeing.  We  believe  that  one  key  way  to  achieve  these  changes  is
through  an  adult  living  in  the  home  with  our  young  people  as  a
Residential Volunteer.

Naturally,  our  Residential  Volunteers  go  away  for  weekends  and
holidays, and therefore we have a pool of Residential Cover Volunteers
who  stay  at  the  house  whilst  the  Residential  Volunteer  is  away.  The
main role of the Residential Cover Volunteer is to be an adult present in
the  house  prior  to  curfew,  to  ensure  the  young  people  are  home  and
safe.  We  have  a  member  of  staff  on-call  24/7  for  any  safeguarding
concerns  and/or  emergencies.  Therefore,  the  role  of  the  Residential
Cover  Volunteer  is  to  communicate  as  required  and  to  then  sleep  at
the house overnight.

Reporting to:
Cambridge Team Leader

Location:
All our houses are located in north Cambridge.

Salary:
This  is  a  volunteer  role;  however,  we  will  reimburse  you  up  to  £12  a
night  for  any  food  expenses  you  accrued  from  staying  at  one  of  our
houses.

Time commitment:
There  is  no  time  commitment  for  Residential  Cover  Volunteers.  All
Residential Cover Volunteers will be given the dates of holidays when
they  are  booked  by  our  Residential  Volunteers,  and  then  the  role
entitles you to let the Volunteer and Intern Coordinator know as many
or few nights can be covered, subject to each person’s availability.

There  is  a  general  expectation  that  our  volunteers  are  in  the  house
between 9.00 pm and 6.00 am.

the

Responsibilities
For
responsibilities  and
commitments  that  we  ask  from
you, please refer to the Volunteer
Agreement.

Key Activities

Communicate  with  the  On  Call
team  letting  them  know  when
you arrive and leave.

Chat,  eat  with,  watch  a  movie  or
play  a  game  with  the  young
people in the house

Let  On  Call  know  if  anyone  has
missed curfew.

Characteristics

Our Residential Cover Volunteers
must be able to commit to and
actively promote the principles
and practices of Baca. The
Residential Cover Volunteers must
be fully sympathetic to the
purpose of Baca and the needs
and circumstances of the young
people we support. Without these
characteristics it will be very
difficult for any person to provide
the required oversight and care.

FAQs

Will I receive any training?
Yes, we will provide you with safeguarding training and a full staff induction. This will
include information about Baca, our purpose and objectives; an understanding of the
House Rules to be observed by the young people; more information about what the
Residential Cover Volunteer role entails; what to do in an emergency and what support is
available to you, and introduction to the Baca team. In addition, we will introduce you to
our existing Residential Cover Volunteers so that you will be able to ask them about their
experiences and build a healthy rapport within the team.

Who are the young people that Baca support?
Baca provides housing, care and support to unaccompanied asylum seeker children who
are between the ages of 16-18 years. The young people come from anywhere in the world
and will typically speak very little English on arrival to the UK.

If you have any questions, please call Gill Niedojaldo

on 07498992360

www.bacacharity.org.uk