The Croft Family Support - Supporting Visitors at HMP Barlinnie

Welcoming, Connecting and Supporting Families and Visitors is at the core of what we do here at the Croft

Providing practical and emotional support, information and advice to the families who come into contact with HMP Barlinnie, improving the visits experience and through an earlier intervention model, supporting complex needs, easing often extremely difficult life circumstances for children and families - including the multi-faceted impacts of deep poverty.

Role

Do you want to help make a difference to the lives of families affected by another’s imprisonment – this is a group of people, including many children, often marginalised and severely impacted, practically, emotionally and financially by the actions of another. Want to learn new skills in the process? - you can by becoming a volunteer Board Member for the Croft at HMP Barlinnie and help us to lead and guide the Management Team and staff to deliver the ambitions sets out in our 5 year strategy.

What we are looking for

We welcome applicants from any background and experience, including people who have been personally impacted. We welcome all skills but do have particular skills gaps we would love to bring aboard –

• Communications Experience - to further guide and help us develop work we have already undertaken to improve our communications offering as we grow and diversify our work
• Commercial business experience (particularly Social Enterprises / Community Interest Companies) – to support the further development of our Social Enterprise ambitions - supporting a more self-sustaining approach to our funding
• Bookkeeping / Accounts – finance – as we grow and diversify what we offer we find ourselves managing more complex funding arrangements
• Other experience and skills will always be welcomed – a cross section of skills is what makes our Board such a great environment to work in

What you get from being a Board Member

• The chance to give something back into the community and make a real difference to the lives of families impacted by imprisonment - Becoming a Trustee is a fantastic way to give something back to a cause you care about. You’ll be playing an integral part in the way the charity is run, ensuring it remains sustainable and financially viable. The help you provide will be invaluable.
• Meet new people - joining a new organisation or charity is a fantastic way to meet new people from a range of different personal and professional backgrounds. There will be meetings to attend (the Board itself meets quarterly), projects to get involved.
• Learn new things - getting involved as a charity Trustee is a great way to put your professional skills to use, but can also be a fantastic opportunity to learn new things. You’ll get great insight into what’s involved in the management of charities and gain skills on working well within a leadership role.
• Improve your CV and enhance your professional development - from learning how organisations are run to planning finances and attending meetings, this experience can be the perfect way to boost a CV and set you apart from the crowd.

Background

For more information about the Croft and its work see:

Visit our new website: Home | The Croft HMP Barlinnie Visitors Centre | 81 Lee Ave, Glasgow City, G33 2QX

Visit our Facebook page: facebook.com/CroftVisitorsService

Recruitment of New Board Members and Trustees

Fife Law Centre is currently seeking to recruit Board members with various skills, including financial management, Third Sector organisations and their purposes in Fife, and statutory bodies e.g. local government and health.

Fife Law Centre was established in 2009 and is a registered charity, constituted as a company limited by guarantee. It is the product of the vision of local agencies and providers who saw a need for accessible and specialist legal services for clients served by the Third Sector in Fife. These founding agencies are now our partners as we seek to provide for those with unmet legal needs.

We operate as a Board which sustains and supports a private legal firm, Fife Community Law Ltd, which itself is regulated by the Law Society of Scotland.

The purpose of the Board is to set the strategic direction of, and secure the resources for, Fife Law Centre, and to work with the Principal Solicitor to support the delivery of services. Our principal funders are Fife Council and the Scottish Legal Aid Board, under the Making Justice Work Project.

The current focus of legal work is on cases of homelessness, welfare law, supporting victims of domestic violence, employment and immigration. Matters in other fields are dealt with at the discretion of the Principal Solicitor.

The Board meets 5/6 times a year in a formal setting, with Board members taking a lead in different topics, occasionally in work groups.

Since 1984 Granton Information Centre (GIC) have worked hard to improve the lives of individuals and families by providing free & impartial advice, advocacy and representation on matters relating to welfare rights, debt and housing. If you are passionate about alleviating poverty and supporting people and communities in Edinburgh, we want to hear from you!

Main Tasks

• Provide advice and assistance with welfare benefit entitlement claims and money, debt and general housing issues, via centre based, telephone, outreach and home visit appointments.

• Represent claimants at appeal tribunals.

• Record and maintain accurate client case records using our Advice Pro recording system.

• Maintain an up-to-date knowledge of changes and developments in welfare, housing and debt legislation and liaise with colleagues on any issues that need to be communicated wider.

Roxburgh and Berwickshire CAB is an independent charity providing advice, information and support to people across our community. We are a friendly team of staff and volunteers working over 4 locations (Eyemouth, Duns, Kelso, and Hawick) delivering a busy advice service. We strive to deliver a good quality service that meets the needs of our clients in a non-judgemental and confidential manner. We aim for individuals not to suffer through not knowing or understanding their rights and responsibilities or not being aware of the services available to them. We provide advice and options to our clients so that they can make informed decision and feel empowered to improve their personal circumstance.

Job description:

To ensure the provision and development of quality advice, information and representation on statutory benefits and other social welfare matters in the Scottish Borders.

Key Responsibilities

• Interview clients over the phone, and face-to-face to gather relevant information about their circumstances and identify the areas they require assistance with.

• Research advice areas to identify possible options for the client.

• Improving access to benefit entitlements and maximising income.

• Provide representation for clients at social security first tier tribunals.

• Provide support and guidance on complex cases to CAB staff and volunteers.

• Run outreach sessions across Roxburgh and Berwickshire to enable our clients to access advice within their local community.

• Identify social policy issues to feedback to the wider network to help benefit both local and national social policy campaigns.

• Negotiate with third parties on the client’s behalf to resolve issues they are facing, for example, with employers, benefit agencies, and landlords, etc.

• Coordinate with other specialist advisors and projects within the Citizens Advice Bureau network to ensure clients receive support with complex issues.

• Keep comprehensive records of casework which meet audit requirements, including use of CASTLE case recording system.

• Identify areas for personal development and proactively explore training opportunities to continue your own personal development.

• Keep up to date on relevant legislation and case law relevant to the role.

• Carry out case checking responsibilities to help ensure cases are meeting audit requirements.

• Uphold the principles of Roxburgh and Berwickshire CAB at all times.

This list is not exhaustive, and you will be expected to carry out any other reasonable duties as requested by the operations coordinator or the bureau manager.