Sahil Project - Services :: Counselling, Befriending, Drop in and more..

What we Offer

Activities
Training
Counselling
Befriending
Drop in Sessions
Service User Support Sessions
Volunteering
Referral Form
Recruitment

Newsletter

Issue 10

	Befriending
	There are 24 active trained and experienced Volunteers who currently support the project with the office duties by covering the main desk answering telephone, taking messages, sign posting , befriending or with arranging to make home visits or accompanying clients to their appointments. A Volunteer Co-ordinator manages the volunteers. The Volunteer befriender provides emotional support, by listening to clients problems, and helping the women to work through difficult issues. They can provide a listening ear when the women need to express their anxieties and concerns. The staff and Volunteers speak various Asian languages, including Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Gujrati.
	Drop In Sessions
	These sessions are very popular with women who come in and access support on form filling, letter reading, making appointments and befriending.
	Service User Support Sessions
	During these sessions a variety of subjects is covered, including personal safety, stress management, healthy eating, domestic violence awareness, and women’s health related topics. The aims of the group are to try to reduce isolation and stress, and encourage women to meet and share their experiences with others in similar circumstances.
	Counselling
	The Counselling service offered is strictly professional, confidential and culturally sensitive support offered to clients at Sahil. All our Counsellors are Qualified and experienced members of staff who work strictly under the BACP Guidelines. To ensure that women gain maximum emotional support in times of crisis a face to face counselling appointment offered. We also run regular group work counselling sessions in house as well as an outreach. Counselling helps clients to gain new understanding about themselves and their situations. This enables them to get better understanding in making decisions and managing to cope better to help them choose their way forward. These are some of the issues that counsellors are expert on and have worked with, anxiety, anger, stress, relationship problems, depression, cultural issues, domestic violence, forced marriages, sexuality issues, racism and any other personal problems. We are now member of The British Association of Councelling and Pyschotherapy.
	Volunteering at Sahil
	Voluntary Service is an essential part of Sahil’s services. The volunteering service was expanded in March 2002 via funding from the Big Lottery- Community Fund. Every year, there are two recruitment drives, in which the participants are carefully picked and appropriately trained. We insist that all our volunteers are CRB checked and their suitability for the Project is verified by professional and personal references. The Volunteering services offer the following: BEFRIENDING- Someone to talk to in complete confidence. SUPPORT- If a woman is accessing our befriending service, then we can and will provide escorting by accompanying to hospital, doctors, solicitors etc. (We do not offer this as an individual service) OUTREACH AND HOME VISITS - Where required, we offer home visits if the client is unable to attend our office. All service users are visited prior to any befriending takes place - this is primarily to assess the right service as well as health and safety reasons. SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF - Due to language barriers, many women feel anxious about receiving a letter or a bill from organisations. We telephone on their behalf to clear up any queries. We do not provide an interpreting or translation service. DROP IN FACILITY - our services are accessible from 9.00am - 5.00pm (Monday - Thursday) and 9.00am - 4.30pm (Friday). Women are able to come to us and we have a safe and protective environment where they are able to talk in complete confidence. All the volunteers are assigned to service users with a cultural and religious match. We open pathways for women - but it is their decision as to which route they choose to take. We do not judge but support and encourage. For many of the volunteers, this is the first time they have been able to work within the community and feel they are putting something back into it through community work. They are able to gain a vast amount of experience, knowledge and skills. Volunteering At Sahil Project, we are always looking for new volunteers to join our team. If you are able to dedicate 2-3 hours a week to support women in an environment where you will listen and empathies with them, as well as support them with their issues, and you posses the following: Awareness of cultural differences Good listening skills Ability to work as part of a team Ability to speak at least one Asian Language would be desirable Willingness to travel within Coventry for outreach work Non-judgemental and non-directive approach Ability to use supervision constructively Ability to maintain confidentiality at all times Ability to record accurate information on Contact sheet with assistance if required Commitment and honest approach to work Ability to keep Sahil office staff informed of any issues and areas of concerns, which you may have with regards to Service Users, on a weekly basis We look forward to hearing from you. All volunteers are provided trainings including for the existing volunteers who receive regular one to one support and new trainings to enhance their skills. The training programme is accredited and delivered annually. It consists of the following: Basic counselling skills Emergency first aid Signs and symptoms of depression Stress management/ assertiveness Understanding mental health Domestic violence Application packs are available from the Sahil Project office at 449 Foleshill Road, Coventry CV6 5AQ. If you require further assistance or have any questions, please contact Kinder on 024 76638754.
	Recruitment
	Current Vaccancies Due to the expansion of the Project we require highly motivated and enthusiastic persons to join the existing team for the following posts: Project Co-ordinator – 30 hours, £20,590.49 pro rata Qualified Counsellor - 7.5 hours, £19,674.03 pro rata Closing date: 12th July 2010 Interview dates: 22nd & 23rd July 2010 Both these posts require understanding of women’s needs and ability to communicate in at least one of the South Asian Languages. For an application pack for the above posts, please call 024 76638754 or email sahil.project@btopenworld.com. You can speak to Kinder or Rani for further information. This post is advertised in accordance with section 7 (2) (E) of the discrimination act. Only women need apply.