This paper sets out Volunteering Matters’ thinking about how we might empower volunteers in ways that can help them to improve the quality of outcomes for people who use care and support services. We take the view that volunteers represent an underused source of added-value for those reliant upon these services. This applies in particular to those living in residential and nursing homes, those who use domiciliary and day services – and indeed to those using any form of regulated or formally constituted support service. Because they are for the most part ordinary citizens, with families, friends and lives, volunteers are in a unique position to offer the
means to build bridges between service and community, to open the doors, to bring those who may have become isolated, cut-off or out of touch back to their community.
Open the doors to citizen engagement: empowered volunteers, quality services
View Report
