Coordinators

1. Adapt the Asylum Guide volunteer role description

• Adapt the Asylum Guides Volunteer poster to suit your needs and promote the Asylum Guides programme to your volunteers.
  
• Consider the person specification and what kind of attributes an Asylum Guides volunteer needs.
  
• Adapt our Asylum Guides Volunteer role outline to suit your needs.

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2. Think about other roles which may be needed

• ‍ Interpreters – You may need to recruit volunteer interpreters if your pool of Asylum Guides does not contain all the languages you need to assist clients.
  
• Admin Volunteer – You may want to recruit an admin volunteer to help organise appointments, take referrals and collate feedback.
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3. Post the volunteer role adverts

• Post the advert on your usual recruitment channels (posters, mailouts, etc).

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4. Assess suitability of volunteer applications

• Look through applicants to decide which ones would make suitable Asylum Guides and any other roles you are recruiting for the Asylum Guides project.
• Ensure you have a diverse group with a range of experiences, ideally speaking a number of languages.

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5. Notify volunteers of the outcome of their application

• Once you've identified suitable volunteers, invite them in for a 1-to-1 meeting.
  
• Explain what they need to bring (references and documents needed in order to apply for a DBS).
  
• For volunteers that aren't suitable, inform them of the outcome and think about whether they might be suitable for a different role.

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6. Hold 1-to-1 meetings with chosen volunteers

• Explain the project in more detail to the volunteer.
  
• Check their general availability and make a note.
  
• Check they have two references and arrange to apply for a DBS with the volunteer.
  
• If you don't have the capacity to run DBS checks, think about how you are going to ensure that the project is run safely. Use this document for guidance.
• Explain organisational principles, practices and policies including: confidentiality, behaviour at work, safeguarding, expenses, health and safety and give them an induction pack or volunteer booklet (if your organisation doesn't have a volunteer booklet, please see examples from the Refugee Action volunteering handbook which you can adapt).

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7. Invite chosen volunteers to Asylum Guides training

• If you think a volunteer would make a suitable Asylum Guide, invite them to take part in Asylum Guides training (see more below).  
• If they are not suitable for the Asylum Guide role consider whether there is another suitable role within the project (interpreter/administrator).  
• If you think they might not be right for the Asylum Guides project, signpost them to another project, if one is available and suitable.
  

1. Organise the volunteer training session

• First, set a schedule for the training - think about dates and availability.  
• Set a start and end time and remember to factor in breaks. 
• If you’re delivering face-to-face training, you’ll need to find a venue. Ensure your venue is suitable and has everything you need, such as access to WiFi.
• Arrange refreshments and decide if you will offer snacks and/or lunch.
• Discuss how you will reimburse volunteer expenses for travel, lunch or data if training is being delivered remotely. 
• Notify volunteers of the training day details.

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2. Review, adapt, and prepare training materials

• Familiarise yourself with the volunteering training presentations part one and two. 
• If you're thinking of delivering asylum guide group sessions using the all-in-one briefings, take a look at this additional training material. You might want to deliver some specific training on the benefits and challenges of delivering information in a group with your volunteers! 
• Check out the slides on asylum support and healthcare - you might want to adapt and add these to your sessions.
• We encourage organisations to deliver the training across at least 2 sessions: part 1. 'Role specific training & Understanding the Asylum Process' and part 2. 'Information, Advice and Safeguarding'. 
• You are welcome to download, make a copy of the presentation and resources, and make any changes to suit your project needs. The training materials and resources have been created to use as much or as little as you need.
  

• Print out and prepare the exercises and activities (Asylum Process Flowchart, Info VS Advice, Advice and Boundaries exercise, script and answers, Case Studies, Feedback about Asylum Guides, Volunteer Good Practice Booklet by following the instructions on the notes part of the training presentation.
  

• Print out the briefings and resources from the Volunteer Toolkit and use them to prepare an Asylum Guides pack for each volunteer which they can use in the training session and takeaway to use as a resource.
  

• Print out the presentation slides for each participant.
  

• Use our training feedback form as a template, or ensure there is WiFi so that volunteers can fill out the online training feedback form at the end/after the session. We will share any data with you.
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3. Deliver the volunteer training session

• With everything prepared, you are ready to deliver the training session.
  
• At the end of the training, check who can volunteer and when. Pass the availability sheet around the room to capture this information.
  
• Ensure all volunteers complete the printed training feedback form or online training feedback form.

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4. Check feedback from volunteers

• Check the evaluation forms to see how to improve training the next time it is delivered.  
• Share the training feedback with the Refugee Action Project Manager.  
• Go over the forms to assess how the volunteers are feeling ahead of meetings (outlined below)
  

1. Find a suitable match for the client

• When a client is ready for an Asylum Guide, the first job is to find a suitable match.
• Take into account availability, language, gender, and anything else that will help you determine a good fit between an Asylum Guide and a client.
• You may find it helpful to download a copy of this Asylum Guides Match Grid for use when matching clients with Guides and keeping track of meetings.

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2. Invite the client in for a "Client registration" meeting  

• Ensure that you have a room booked and an interpreter if you need one.

• Allow for at least an hour to complete the initial registration meeting.
• This meeting can either be done by a coordinator, a coordinator with an Asylum Guide, or an experienced Asylum Guide might be confident working alone.
• We recommend that new Asylum Guides shadow the coordinator for the first initial meeting.  
• Ensure that the Asylum Guide has completed the training and that they know how to access and use the Volunteer Toolkit. 
• Remind volunteers what to do in case they have a safeguarding concern, how to maintain professional boundaries and provide information and not advice. Encourage the volunteers to make use of the Volunteering Good Practice Guide.

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3. Meeting with clients

• We recommend collecting feedback after each meeting in order to measure the impact of the project and ensure you meet the needs of the people you’re supporting. You might have your own monitoring forms to use. 
• We have created monitoring and evaluation forms for the Asylum Guide project which you will find on the volunteer toolkit. If you would like to use these, please get in touch so we can discuss this. 
• When meeting with a client, discuss what stage of the asylum process they are at - this will help you prepare the relevant briefings and resources to discuss with them. If the client has a Substantive Interview coming up for example, consider using the briefings in the Pre Substantive Interview section on the Volunteer Toolkit.

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4. Ensure subsequent meetings are organised and delivered

• Decide whether the client will be given the coordinator's phone number, a volunteer’s phone number or if they need to attend a drop-in to access further meetings. This will depend on the service you offer. 
• At the end of each meeting, discuss whether the client would like to arrange another meeting and how to keep in touch.

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5. Ensure suitable ongoing volunteer support

• Volunteers are giving a lot of their time and effort to be an Asylum Guide. The role can be emotionally demanding so they will need appropriate support from you.
• Consider completing a personal development plan for each volunteer.
• Check in with new volunteers at the end of each session, provide positive constructive feedback and thank them for their time.
• Remind volunteers to check in with you if anything needs to be discussed. This is especially important when it comes to safeguarding concerns or if they have been asked any difficult questions during the meeting.
• Check in with volunteers via email, on the phone, or in person to ensure that they are happy with how things are going.
• Consider organising ongoing training or support, for example peer support groups and/or coffee mornings to share learnings, successes and challenges.
• Offer supervision support to volunteers if they need it.