About Volunteering

Every year we assist 10-15 volunteers to live and work with Antara for placements of one month or more.

We welcome applications from anyone over 18 years, however we especially welcome:

• Undergraduate and Graduate students of health, social work or psychology.
• Those already working in mental health or related fields.
• Those with research, administration or clinical skills (see research and cooperation)

Volunteers are an integral part of our ongoing support and development as an organisation. We expect volunteers:

• To offer direct support by involvement in therapy and care (as skills allow), being alongside patients, introducing new skills or programmes, or conducting research for Antara.
• To assist Friends of Antara UK by gathering case-studies, writing reports or helping to develop proposals for funding priorities.
• To be involved in our general or local committees in the UK on their return.

To find out more about volunteering, including some frequently asked questions please see our volunteer pack http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~eenav/VPack08.pdf.

Costs

We charge an administration fee of £25 to cover costs of volunteer packs and CRB checks (see below). Otherwise, Friends of Antara UK does not charge for volunteering, though we do require all volunters to contribute time or skills in the UK before or after placements.

It is the responsibility of volunteers to meet other costs. Some example costs are:

Item	Cost
Flights	£450-600
Visa	£30
Medical expenses	£75-100
Insurance	£50-100
Accommodation and food costs	£25-50 (<£1 /day for food and bed)
Travel and other costs	£50-100

We believe that placements should be accessible to people regardless of background so we'll work with you to raise other costs. You might think about:

• Paid work
• Applications to university or other grant-making bodies.
• Fundraising

Applying

To apply for a volunteer placement, download our volunteer application form and return it, along with two references, by e-mail to our volunteer coordinator - volunteer@friendsofantarauk.org or by post.

Alternatively you can find out about volunteering at our recruitment meetings in Leeds, Warwick and other universities.

Because we need to process applicants and prepare you for a placement we have the following deadlines for application;

Type of Placement	Time of Year	Deadline for Application
Medical Elective	April - August	31st December (year prior)
Undergraduate placement	June-August	31st January (same year)
Postgraduate placement	Any (outside of June-Aug)	4 months  prior to placement

Every applicant goes through the same selection process

• Selection or rejection for interview
• Interview in Leeds or York, unless special arrangement is made.
• Approval or rejection within two weeks of the interview.
• Final approval pending agreement to:
  - A personalised risk assessment.
  - Review of health concerns by Friends of Antara UK and Antara.
  - Our Protection of Vulnerable Adults and Protection of Children and Adolescents policy.
  - Enhanced Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) check.

We ask applicants to accept our final decision on your application and to remember that we have more applicants than placements so some may be disappointed.

Wherever possible we aim to assist people to placements and we encourage people to re-apply or, if circumstances change unforseeably, to consider holding over their placement to the next year. The exception to this will be failure to agree to any of the legal processes above or a rejection based on information from your CRB disclosure. In this case it is unlikely your re-application will be considered.

About CRB checks

In order to ensure the well-being of those you will work with as a volunteer, F of A UK requires all volunteers to have a new enhanced Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) check. CRB forms will usually be completed at the volunteer resource day (see below) following successful interviews. You are required to bring suitable proof of identity.

You can find out more using the links below or in our resources section:

• General information on CRB checks (here) and code of practice (here)
• Our CRB policy and specific statements on recruitment of ex-offenders (here) and handling of secure information (here).
• Information on completing the CRB form here.
• A list of suitable ID (here).

Preparation

We carefully prepare successful applicants for their placement.

• Volunteer pack
  - You will receive a hard copy of this detailed guide to volunteering with Antara. You can view this on-line at: http://www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~eenav/VPack08.pdf
• Volunteer resource day
  - Guides volunteers on how to make the most of their placement and how they can help Antara and Friends of Antara UK. This is an opportunity to meet with other volunteers and plan your placement dates.
• Volunteer briefing
  - Honorary Chair and psychiatrist, Dr.Partha Gangapadhyay gives a talk and answer volunteers questions on mental health and healthcare in India.
• Contact before, during and after your placement
  - We are on hand to support you at all stages of your placement and to help you make the most of the time there.

On your Placement

Working

In general our volunteers take one of threee approaches to work, which are not mutually exclusive:

• As a general volunteer they are involved in inpatient, outpatient and rehabilitation activities. Occupational therapy is popular, and opportunities to enhance recreational or therapeutic sessions are plentiful. Those with specific skills may develop new programmes or contribute to existing ones.
• Some volunteers seek clinical and observational experience and shadow health professionals and social workers whilst interacting with patients.
• Finally, volunteers may organise a research project, conduct informal research for Friends of Antara UK or help draft proposals for new funding priorities and health facilities or services.

As a volunteer you will may be working in a variety of environments and capacities:

 

Environment	Capacity
Inpatient	Observing therapeutic activity. Recreational activities Group therapy activiteis
Outpatient	Assisting pharmacists. Observing clinics and therapeutic activities. Assisting in laboratory work.
Community	Visiting and assisting with outreach clinics and health camps. Following social workers on home visits
Rehabilitation	Visiting and spending time in group-homes and the White Cross House. Assisting in occupational therapy.
Outside Antara	Researching useful organisations with ideas to offer Antara.

Living

Almost all our volunteers live in the Antargram centre or the rehabilitation centre (White Cross House) alongside other staff. Both centres provide a community feel for resident patients and recreational time will be often be spent with staff and patients.

They are safe and pleasant, if quite basic, environments and for less than £1 / day you will receive three meals and a bed. The localities are small but well-connected villages within easy distance of larger and more well-equipped towns.

After your return

We ask all volunteers to provide feedback on their experiences with Antara to help improve our volunteer programme in the future. In addition most volunteers provide Friends of Antara UK with reports, photographs, case-studies and any other information they found useful.

We also ask all volunteers to get involved in our general or local committees for at least a year after placement. The amount of commitment required depends very much on the role you take up and your time. However, we do like to think of a volunteer project as the starting point of an ongoing interest in Antara.