Volunteer with Crisis this Christmas and be there for someone as they start to build a life beyond homelessness. Whether you are the first person a guest meets when they walk through the door looking for support, or you provide a listening ear and companionship, you’ll be making a real difference.
Crisis works at Christmas and all year round in Oxford to help people experiencing homelessness find their own stable home and access education and training. Every Christmas, local volunteers come together to provide warmth, companionship and vital services to our members (people experiencing homelessness) at one of the toughest times of the year.
Volunteering opportunities can range from a few hours to multiple days and usually take place in the Crisis Skylight in Oxford, or in nearby community venues.
For Crisis at Christmas Oxford 2023, we offered a range of activities throughout December for our members including haircuts, eye tests, arts activities and a festive breakfast.
We also ran deliveries of ‘festive hampers’ throughout December, where we offered our members a variety of goods to support them throughout the winter season.
The homelessness situation in Oxfordshire has been influenced by various factors, including affordable housing shortage, rising housing costs, welfare and economic issues: changes to the welfare system and economic challenges have affected many people, contributing to homelessness or housing instability and a shortage of temporary accommodation for those who need it.
To attend Christmas as a guest in Oxford you must be signed up as a member with Crisis. If you would like Crisis’ support please speak to our reception team.
It’s great that you want to support us this Christmas! There are lots of opportunities to support us through fundraising or campaigning work. To find out more, scroll to the bottom of this page or click through to the Crisis this Christmas webpage.
Some of our roles require previous experience or qualifications and others do not.
Professional service volunteers, such as those completing health checks or haircuts will require the relevant qualifications and public liability insurance.
In some roles we may be looking for volunteers with experience of supporting people who are homeless or other vulnerable adult groups. Information about each role will be listed on our website and throughout your volunteer application form. Please check this information before applying to ensure you are applying for the most suitable role for you.
We would be delighted if you would like to volunteer year-round, please view our year-round volunteering opportunities here: Volunteer with Crisis | Crisis UK | Together we will end homelessness
Of course, you are welcome to volunteer in a new shift, location or a different role if we have space available.
If you are feeling poorly we urge you to not volunteer until you are feeling better.
The voice and expertise of people with lived experience is vital in ensuring our service is truly meeting the needs of our members. We encourage anyone with lived experience to apply for our volunteer roles.
We also involve members and people with lived experience of homelessness in opportunities across the organisation including our Experts by Experience panel. For more details, please speak to your local Volunteer and Involvement Lead.
We do not ask for references for Christmas volunteers.
At Christmas, due to the volume of volunteers recruited, we are unable to provide detailed references. We will only provide a start and finish date for those who have completed a volunteering shift in the previous two years. The only exception to this is for the lead/senior volunteers who work closely with Crisis and members of staff beyond the Christmas service delivery period.
Volunteers can claim expenses at the usual rate at Oxford.
Many of the roles in our services will require a disclosure check, (either basic or enhanced) - you will be able to see this on the role description. If the role does, we use a digital system to manage this and we will request and pay for it (where payment is needed).
If you have a criminal conviction, this does not automatically mean you cannot volunteer for us. However, we may need to ask you more about the conviction to be able to do a risk assessment and decide if you can or cannot volunteer.
We will be in touch after reviewing your application to invite you to an induction or interview depending on the role (this will be advised in the role description).
You will receive an induction into your role ahead of your first shift, and there will be relevant e-learning available to you on My Crisis Volunteering.
If you need to access your volunteer account please visit My Crisis Volunteering. Here you can access information on your shifts, including if you need to cancel or amend them and any learning relating to your volunteering as well as update your contact details.
If you are concerned about someone who is rough sleeping please phone Streetlink on 0300 500 0914 or use the streetlink website.
If you are concerned about someone may be in temporary or unsuitable accommodation, please phone our reception (01865 263900) for advice or you can contact Shelter which also has an excellent advice line: 0808 800 4444
