We are recruiting for Casework volunteers
We are recruiting volunteers for all Casework volunteer roles.
The closing date for applications is is Monday, 14 October at 9AM.
Induction training for these roles will be held on 4 and 7 November, from 5:30 – 7:30PM. Please do not apply if you cannot make the training.
Advocacy & Support Volunteers will all start the week commencing 11 November.
Please do not apply for this role if you will not be available to start this week. Other roles will commence shortly after.
Details of our volunteer roles are below, including application packs.
Volunteer roles at Detention Action
Remote Advocacy and Support Volunteers
Advocacy and Support Volunteers (ASVs) give a wide range of practical as well as emotional support to people in detention. ASVs are the first contact for people in detention calling our free phone, and are responsible for supporting a caseload of clients. They provide non-immigration advice on people’s rights and how to access support and accommodation to which they can be released from detention. ASVs also put people in touch with legal advisors and support organisations, such as BID or Medical Justice.
This is a remote volunteer role. We provide induction training via an online platform, ongoing training, telephone support and supervision.
You would need to be available to commit to least one day a week from 10am – 5pm for six months.
Remote Volunteer Interpreters
Volunteer Interpreters provide simultaneous telephone interpreting between staff and volunteers in the office and people in detention. We are particularly looking for people who are fluent in Arabic, Albanian, Amharic, Bengali, Farsi, French, Kurdish Sorani, Pashto, Portuguese (especially Brazilian Portuguese), Polish, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Romanian, Tigrinya, Tetum, Vietnamese.
Volunteer Visitors
Volunteer Visitors befriend and give emotional support to people who are detained at Harmondsworth and Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centres. They are required to use their active listening skills to offer support to people detained so that they can best cope with their situation. Volunteer visitors usually commit to visiting every 7-10 days for a period of 6 months, which is around 20 visits.
More about our volunteers’ experiences:
Remote volunteering from around the world – Leila
The paradox of visiting people in detention – Anthony
“I regularly speak to people who are in absolute despair” – Mary-Ann
Detention Action relies on the work of volunteers to deliver support and advice to people in immigration detention. We support people – providing emotional and practical support and advice – in the two immigration detention centres near Heathrow and to those detained under immigration powers in prisons. The majority of people in the centres are men, from a range of countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. They may be refused asylum seekers, ex-offenders, visa overstayers or people going through the asylum process.
We welcome applications from individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds including those who have lived experience of immigration detention and the UK immigration system.