Volunteers are key in Diaconia, supporting services and creating relationships with service users and their families/friends.
Volunteers complement the work of paid staff and many of our members have both long and short-term volunteering opportunities available. The recent increase in migrants, refugees and asylum seekers coming to Europe has seen many people offering to volunteer in diaconal and other organisations, which is hugely encouraging. However, as the situation is not so fluid and many of the new arrivals in Europe have specific needs, there is a particular approach required to volunteering that many organisations are still defining.
I shared this thought with the members of the European Diaconal Year Network (EDYN) at their annual meeting in London this week. They work with long-term volunteers, usually sent from another member of their network, and have developed high-quality volunteering experiences for people of all ages. As Eurodiaconia considers how best to support members in their work with the social inclusion and integration of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Europe, we might want to consider the role of volunteers and the training and support needed for volunteers in this increasing area of work and learn from the work EDYN has already done.
Learning is also what will be happening next week as members gather in Dusseldorf to look at Diaconia in Urban areas. Working in cities, just as with migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, requires specific approaches and experience. We look forward to hearing from our members what their experience is with working in inner city areas and what we can do together to build capacity and share experience.
Have a good weekend,
Heather Roy