Advocacy

Despite being an important part of our physical and mental health, as well as playing an integral part in our emotional wellbeing and social relationships, sexual health can sometimes still be a difficult subject to define and talk about. Different cultures, sub-cultural groups, and individuals hold varying beliefs, values, and attitudes about sexual health.

More than just an absence of disease or dysfunction, the varied components for having good sexual health include having a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships free of coercion, discrimination, or violence. And while the World Health Organisation has been working in the field of sexual health for well over 40 years, non-profit organisations and volunteers have largely pioneered advances in sexual health care, at times paving the way for new services and approaches that healthcare systems have been slow to adopt.

In this Along the Web, Arnie Wickens looks into some of the projects and programs around the world that incorporate volunteers to try to inform and educate others concerning sexual health, often challenging sexual health misconceptions in their efforts to improve the lives of others.

Barwon Health, the largest and most comprehensive regional health services in Australia, concluded several years ago that its 1,000 volunteers were ready and able to improve the health of their community. So in February 2014, the health service implemented a Volunteer Training and Development program that provided volunteers with opportunities to expand their healthcare knowledge, participate more concretely in the health service's mission, and ultimately build an empowered, healthy, and sustainable volunteer base for the future.

In this e-Volunteerism feature, Barwon Health’s Lyn Stack writes that “by investing in our volunteers through health knowledge, we utilise their support to directly improve the health and wellness of our community, while also providing volunteers with opportunities to increase confidence and decrease fear of entering the health sector.”  Stack describes how the program has expanded in two years to include Australia’s first Volunteer Health and Wellness Calendar, a Healthy Living Ambassadors program, and a national public awareness campaign to help volunteers expand their own health awareness to others. “By sharing this program,” Stack writes, “we can empower all volunteer leaders to invest in and reward their volunteers through the power of knowledge.”

Someone once asked me how I hold my head up so high after all I have been through. I said it's because no matter what, I am a survivor, NOT a victim.          - Patricia Buckley

Volunteering with victims of crimes can be a somber experience, yet many find this area of human services to be intrinsically rewarding and psychologically satisfying. This edition of Along the Web explores formal volunteering that aids and addresses victims of crime. Author Erick Lear will review a diverse group of websites, including: direct services provided to victims; services for the victims’ loved ones; self-help groups; and online services. Lear also includes websites that provide relevant information for volunteer administrators, with a focus on tips, resources, and tools to assist with volunteer management in crisis-oriented settings.

In the last issue of e-Volunteerism, volunteer Stephanie Myers wrote about her journey to start Mind for Athletes (M4A), an organization that helps recognize mental health issues among student athletes. e-Volunteerism has pledged to follow Myers’ efforts in future stories, but Myers’ experience immediately inspired Along the Web author Arnie Wickens to research projects around the world in which volunteers support people with mental health illnesses and related issues.

This Along the Web focuses on community mental health programmes, some of which are entirely run and led by volunteers, including volunteers who are current or past users of mental health support services themselves. While there are excellent volunteer services in mental health, not all reach out and involve people who have personal experience with such disability. So in this article, we feature those programmes that are explicitly for mental health service users and involve volunteers specifically for that purpose.

In 1954, the Seventh International Conference of Social Work convened in Toronto, Canada, with the theme of “Self-Help in Social Welfare.” While self-help is an important component of effective social work, it can also be seen as a challenge to the formal social work profession. The multi-day event in Toronto presented many speakers and panels in an effort to examine self-help organizations from many different perspectives, and resulted in a 342-page book known as the Proceedings of the event. In this historical Voices, we select key points made by authorities from various countries at this conference, key points that have stood the test of time.

 

Direct action organizing is a powerful instrument for change while engaging your organization’s supporters and volunteers. It is how ordinary citizens become involved in the democratic process and have an impact. Its tools are many, ranging from voter registration drives to lobbying local school boards, from letter writing to media campaigns. Grassroots organizing places power in the hands of people, enabling them to shape their community, its policies, priorities, and services.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) has decades of experience in successfully training staff and volunteers for activist efforts. In this Training Design, PPFA Senior Manager for Training, Jordan Fitzgerald, highlights techniques from their innovative “Live Action Camps.” Included is a PDF of PPFA’s Direct Action Organizing and PowerTrainer’s Guide.

For years I have been encouraging managers of volunteer programs to function as in-house consultants; building commitment, capacity and competency of all staff that interface with volunteers in their organization. For too many years, I have seen the leaders of volunteer programs laboring diligently, trying single-handedly to manage volunteer programs in organizations where there was little buy-in, support or appreciation for their efforts. This has taken its toll on them and on the programs they have led.

Training tools/modules have been developed to help managers of volunteer programs train all staff in skills needed to work effectively with volunteers. But, staff training alone does not solve the problem. Although upper management is increasingly endorsing staff training in supervision of volunteers, they themselves are not always modeling good volunteer management at the top levels of the organization nor are they understanding and performing the roles necessary for them to contribute to a strong volunteer-friendly organization.

Without a synergistic exchange among the management team (including a manager of volunteer programs or those who provide shared leadership for the volunteer program), the organization will never achieve an optimal volunteer program.

Betty Stallings makes the case for developing a volunteer program management team, with solid advice for convincing agency executives this is best for the organization – and for them personally.

 

In March 2005, a pioneering 48-hour event was held in Canberra, Australia: The 1st Annual Retreat for Advanced Volunteer Management . The 50 participants came from all of the Australian states and territories, plus representatives from New Zealand, Singapore, and the US. The intense but relationship-building retreat exceeded all expectations, with prospective outcomes that will strengthen volunteerism in the Pacific region in many ways.

The co-producers of the event explain how it evolved, the goals of the program, how the facilitation model was designed, and participant reactions. They also reflect on what the retreat meant to the emerging national professional associations of Australasia and plans for making the opportunity an annual one. They also explain the provocative slogan “Not just 50, not just 3” to which the retreat “alumni” committed in the last session.

The article is accompanied by audio “sound bites” recorded on site, in which participants explain what made the two days an “advanced” experience for them.