The Basics
Capital Volunteering is a pan London programme which aims to tackle issues of mental health and social inclusion, through volunteering. The lead partners are CSV and The London Development Centre London Development Centre, and the programme is funded by the Treasury, through its Invest to Save Budget (ISB). Other key partners include a wide range of local voluntary and community organisations, employers, local authorities and NHS trusts.
What is different about Capital Volunteering? There are many good examples of volunteering programmes and opportunities for mental health service users, and of 'befriending' or 'buddying' programmes. Capital Volunteering builds on these good examples, to significantly increase the number and range of volunteering openings available, and to nurture new and innovative approaches to mental health, social exclusion and volunteering.
Evaluation and Learning
As part of Capital Volunteering the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) is evaluating the effects that participating in Capital Volunteering is having on the quality of service users’ lives. The latest reports outlining the experiences of the 150 Capital Volunteers taking part in the study are available here.
We also support a pan-London learning network made up of people from over 200 organisations across London. There are opportunities to share approaches and tools, and to reflect on experiences of developing similar projects If you are interested in finding out more contact us here.
How is the project governed?
Each borough has its own steering group, comprising mental heatlh service users and key mental health, voluntary, statutory, local authority and employer organisations. The steering groups oversee the development and implementation of the project in their borough and in turn report to their Local Mental Health Partnership Board and the Capital Volunteering Partnership Board