Volunteer With Dignity Alliance

Use Your Time. Share Your Skills. Help Your Community.

Dignity Alliance is a community-led group supporting residents with difficult issues involving housing, councils, complaints, anti-social behaviour and public services.

We also support Community Projects & Local Improvement — positive local initiatives designed to help make neighbourhoods safer, cleaner, more accessible and better places to live.

We are building a responsible team of volunteers who want to use their time, experience and skills to support residents and contribute positively to their local community.

You do not need to be a lawyer or have professional qualifications to volunteer with us.

What matters most is reliability, respect, patience, honesty, good communication and a willingness to work within clear boundaries.

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How Volunteers Can Help

Volunteers may support Dignity Alliance in different ways depending on their skills, experience, availability and the needs of the organisation.

This may include:

• Helping residents organise information about a problem.

• Helping create clear timelines of events.

• Supporting people in understanding correspondence.

• Helping prepare questions before meetings.

• Helping organise complaints and follow-up information.

• Researching publicly available policies, procedures and services.

• Helping identify appropriate organisations for signposting.

• Supporting community surveys and awareness activities.

• Helping identify recurring issues affecting residents.

• Assisting with administration and organisation.

• Supporting social media and community communications.

• Helping with website content and information materials.

• Supporting community events.

• Supporting local clean-up activities.

• Helping with community surveys or consultations.

• Supporting Community Projects & Local Improvement activities.

• Helping gather residents' ideas for neighbourhood improvements.

• Supporting approved contact with businesses, community organisations or project partners.

• Providing language support where appropriate.

Volunteer roles depend on what Dignity Alliance needs at the time and what activities have been specifically assigned or authorised.

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Volunteer Roles

Community Support Volunteer

Help residents explain what has happened, identify key points and organise relevant information clearly.

Research Volunteer

Help find publicly available information about policies, procedures, complaint routes, public services and relevant organisations.

Administration Volunteer

Support general organisation, approved correspondence, scheduling and administrative activities.

Community Voice Volunteer

Support surveys, awareness activities and work identifying recurring concerns affecting residents.

Community Projects Volunteer

Support approved local improvement activities such as community clean-ups, neighbourhood projects, surveys, events and other practical initiatives designed to benefit local communities.

Communications Volunteer

Help with social media, website updates, community information, graphics and public awareness.

Language Support Volunteer

Help make communication easier for people who may have difficulty understanding English.

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What We Expect From Volunteers

Everyone involved with Dignity Alliance should treat people with dignity, respect and fairness.

We expect volunteers to:

• Be respectful and non-judgemental.

• Communicate calmly and professionally.

• Protect confidential and personal information.

• Only access information necessary for their assigned role.

• Be honest about what they know and do not know.

• Avoid making promises about outcomes.

• Follow Dignity Alliance policies, procedures and instructions.

• Work only within their agreed volunteer role.

• Seek approval where they are unsure whether an action is authorised.

• Raise concerns where something appears outside their role, experience or competence.

• Treat residents, other volunteers, organisations and members of the public respectfully.

• Follow reasonable health, safety and safeguarding instructions when taking part in community activities.

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Your Role and Authority

Volunteers Act Only Within Assigned Responsibilities

Being a Dignity Alliance volunteer does not give a person general authority to act in the name of the organisation.

Volunteers may only carry out tasks and activities that:

• fall within their agreed volunteer role; and

• have been assigned, approved or authorised by Dignity Alliance.

Volunteers must not independently decide to take action in the name of Dignity Alliance simply because they believe that action may be helpful.

If a volunteer is unsure whether they are authorised to do something, they must ask Dignity Alliance before proceeding.

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Contact With Residents and Organisations

Volunteers may only contact residents, councils, housing providers, businesses, sponsors, public bodies, community organisations or other individuals where that contact has been specifically assigned or authorised by Dignity Alliance.

Volunteers must not independently contact new individuals or organisations in the name of Dignity Alliance without prior approval.

Volunteers must not:

• present personal opinions as the official position of Dignity Alliance;

• make commitments or agreements on behalf of Dignity Alliance without authority;

• promise that Dignity Alliance will provide a particular service or achieve a particular result;

• contact councils, police, housing providers or other organisations in a resident's name without appropriate authority;

• approach businesses or sponsors for money, materials or services without approval;

• organise fundraising in the name of Dignity Alliance without authorisation;

• enter into contracts or financial commitments on behalf of Dignity Alliance; or

• use Dignity Alliance's name, logo, volunteer ID or branding for unauthorised activities.

Actions taken independently outside a volunteer's agreed role or without the knowledge or authorisation of Dignity Alliance are not authorised activities or official positions of Dignity Alliance.

Unauthorised activity may result in the volunteer role being restricted, suspended or ended.

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Important Limits

Volunteers Are Not Legal Advisers or Public Officials

Dignity Alliance is not a law firm, council, police service, government agency or public authority.

Volunteering with Dignity Alliance does not authorise anyone to provide regulated professional advice or present themselves as an official representative of another organisation.

Unless appropriately qualified and specifically authorised, volunteers must not:

• Provide legal advice.

• Provide legal representation.

• Represent themselves as a solicitor, barrister or legal adviser.

• Provide regulated financial, medical or immigration advice.

• Represent themselves as a council officer, police officer, government representative or official investigator.

• Decide whether an organisation has acted unlawfully.

• Promise that a complaint, application or dispute will succeed.

• Make decisions on behalf of a resident.

• Make official decisions on behalf of Dignity Alliance.

Where specialist professional advice is required, the person should be signposted to an appropriately qualified service.

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Using Official Information

Where volunteers research policies, procedures, eligibility criteria or complaint routes, they should use current information published by the relevant responsible organisation wherever possible.

Volunteers must not invent, alter or present their own interpretation of another organisation's rules as an official interpretation.

If information appears unclear, outdated or uncertain, the volunteer should raise this with Dignity Alliance before relying on it.

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Privacy and Confidentiality

People may contact Dignity Alliance about sensitive or difficult situations.

Volunteers must treat personal information responsibly.

Volunteers must not:

• Create personal archives of residents' information.

• Keep copies of residents' documents for their own use.

• Access information unrelated to their assigned work.

• Share private information with unauthorised people.

• Discuss identifiable situations unnecessarily.

• Store residents' documents on personal devices unless specifically authorised and appropriately protected.

• Use personal information obtained through Dignity Alliance for unrelated purposes.

• Contact another person or organisation using information obtained through Dignity Alliance unless that contact is authorised.

Dignity Alliance follows a data-minimisation approach and aims not to retain personal information longer than reasonably necessary.

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Community Projects & Local Activities

Volunteers may also be invited to support community projects such as:

• local clean-up activities;

• litter-picking;

• community surveys;

• neighbourhood improvement projects;

• community events;

• environmental activities;

• accessibility initiatives;

• public-space improvement projects;

• community safety awareness activities; or

• other approved local initiatives.

Participation in these activities must follow the instructions, boundaries and safety arrangements set by Dignity Alliance or the organisation responsible for the activity.

Volunteers must not undertake construction, electrical work, CCTV installation, work at height, use of specialist machinery or other higher-risk activities unless the activity has been properly authorised and appropriate competence, supervision, permissions and safety arrangements are in place.

HSE guidance specifically recommends including volunteers in risk assessments and managing risks according to the activities they perform.

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Who Can Volunteer?

We welcome people from different backgrounds and with different experiences.

You may be a good fit if you are:

• Patient.

• Reliable.

• Respectful.

• Organised.

• Comfortable communicating with people.

• Able to remain calm when discussing difficult situations.

• Willing to learn.

• Able to respect confidentiality.

• Able to follow instructions and role boundaries.

• Interested in helping your local community.

Professional experience can be useful, but it is not essential for every volunteer role.

Some roles may require additional checks, training, experience or safeguarding measures depending on the people involved and the nature of the activity.

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Professional Skills

We are also interested in hearing from people with professional or specialist skills who may wish to volunteer some of their time.

This may include people with experience in:

• Housing.

• Community work.

• Administration.

• Finance or accounting.

• Translation.

• Communications.

• Social media.

• Research.

• Mediation.

• Public services.

• Disability support.

• Community project management.

• Environmental or local improvement work.

Where someone holds a regulated professional qualification, any specialist work must be separately agreed and carried out within appropriate professional and regulatory requirements.

Professional qualifications do not automatically authorise someone to provide professional services in the name of Dignity Alliance.

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Training, Guidance and Supervision

Volunteers should not be expected to deal with situations they do not understand or feel competent to handle.

As Dignity Alliance develops, we aim to provide clear guidance about:

• volunteer roles;

• authorised activities;

• confidentiality;

• data protection;

• professional boundaries;

• safeguarding;

• health and safety;

• communication;

• use of Dignity Alliance branding and identification;

• community project procedures;

• when to seek approval; and

• when to signpost someone elsewhere.

Volunteers may also be provided with a volunteer agreement or role description explaining responsibilities, supervision, training and other expectations.

GOV.UK notes that volunteer agreements commonly explain supervision, training, insurance, health and safety and expenses, while not normally creating an employment contract.

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Safety and Insurance

Dignity Alliance aims to consider appropriate health and safety arrangements for volunteer activities.

Different roles may involve different levels of risk, particularly community projects and activities taking place away from a desk or online environment.

Where appropriate, activities may require:

• risk assessment;

• suitable supervision;

• appropriate equipment;

• safeguarding arrangements;

• relevant permissions; and

• suitable insurance.

Government guidance recommends that organisations involving volunteers consider insurance appropriate to their activities and ensure volunteers are included where necessary.

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Why Volunteer With Us?

Volunteering with Dignity Alliance is an opportunity to:

• Support people in your community.

• Help residents feel heard.

• Help improve local neighbourhoods.

• Take part in positive community projects.

• Support cleaner, safer and more welcoming local spaces.

• Develop useful communication and organisational skills.

• Learn more about local services and community issues.

• Meet people who want to make a positive difference.

• Help identify wider issues affecting local communities.

• Contribute to the development of a growing community-led initiative.

Even a small amount of time can make a meaningful difference.

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Interested in Volunteering?

Join Our Growing Team

Dignity Alliance is currently developing its volunteer team.

If you would like to contribute your time, experience or skills, we would be pleased to hear from you.

Tell us a little about yourself, what interests you about Dignity Alliance and how you might like to help.

Submitting an expression of interest does not automatically mean that a volunteer role will be available or offered.