Does Anyone Volunteer for their Local CAB?

It may be that you can work on an admin level rather than as an advisor - as said above, it takes many months before you are let loose on the public and you need to be constantly updating yourself on new rules and regulations.

Re the above remarks too - when I worked at the CAB, people would quite often come in and say they wanted to volunteer but when you passed them the application form they would then change their minds As said above, some people think you can just walk in and start delving through confidential files and giving advice which just aint going to happen . Also remember that in these days of litigation/compensation - you have to be really professional and knowledgeable when you do give out advice (not to mention EXTREMELY politically correct at all times).

Of course that shouldnt put people off applying for the CAB, or any other form of volunteering which may have less rigorous requirements.

hethmar wrote: »

Lizzielondon - do you actually live in London? I was just wondering about walk in legal assistance advice shops? Pro bono site may help?

http://www.barprobono.org.uk/index.php?cID=213

Have you considered Victim Support?

yep i'm in london

i'll check out that site thank you

i'm aware that most places will want student volunteers who have finished or are still working towards an LLB , whereas i will have just completed a BSc (hoping to do a GDL the year after and then an LPC)

Are you involved with Victim Support?

I'm looking for as much legal experience as possible but would like to volunteer for charitable organisations to make the time doubly worthwhile?

plan is to find a bar job for the evening to live on!

How long can it take to hear back from CAB if you applied to volunteer online? I'm just impatient but would be interested to know.

chocsessential wrote: »

Hi, just as the question suggests really. An opportunity has come up for me to do this but I wondered if people normally worked in their nearest CAB or preferred to work in a different one so their neighbours didn't know about it?

It sounds very cloak and dagger but it isn't. I just wandered how most people did their volunteering and if any issues arose from being recognised.

I work for our county district CAB (There's different districts in the one county) and cover local outreaches, including one in the village I live. There has been a couple of occasions where people either know me from the village, or people I directly know have come in. Because the outreach I do is with another colleague we give them the option of seeing the other advisor if I'm taking them, but generally so long as they're happy it's not a problem and we just reassure them that everything is confidential.

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

CRB checks are needed for those working with children, or with vulnerable adults, which some CAB clients would be. I don't know for certain that you'd have to have a CRB to volunteer with CAB, but it wouldn't surprise me. Also in some positions of trust, but I know far less about that side of things.

If you've 'only' got a year to offer (not that I'm knocking it!) you definitely need to start the process before you actually want to start volunteering. I don't know how long it takes to make someone 'useful' within CAB, but we get quite a few people volunteering to gain experience, and by the time they've worked through 'the system', someone who'd hoped to get a year's experience might find they only had 6 months left. And it's a bit frustrating for us too!

I didn't have a CRB check done until the school which I'd started running an outreach in asked for one, so it's not essential to the job unless you have direct contact with children or vulnerable adults.