Please refer to the Jobs section for new opportunities

We have a range of opportunities for volunteers, such as being a mentor or an advocate, or helping with fundraising and general administration.

Visit our volunteering page by clicking on volunteering

Onsides'Christmas Tree sparkles in the Cathedral

Onside invites you to visit Worcester Cathedrals first Christmas Tree Festival where 44 christmas trees are twinkling around the cloisters.

Onside has a tree decorated in a sparkling and calm theme. We think it looks beautiful. Amongst the decorations you can read hand written notes of how Onside has improved the quality of individuals lives across Worcestershire.

Thank you to Onside Lifelinks ; Ted, Brenda and Amanda who with Caroline helped decorate the tree.

Our tree marks the start of Christmas and a special appeal to raise funds to help Onside support isolated elderly people across Worcestershire. With more support we can fund visits and training of volunteers, helping us deliver friendship in 2012.

 A visit from Onside costs £20. Please give what you can using our “Just Giving” a donation is just a few clicks away. Thank you

 Meet Grace*

Aged 88, last Christmas she sat alone in silence. Lonely and isolated after suffering a stroke, having difficulties with her sight and speech she faced a life of emptiness. Her confidence had gone, unable to leave her home, anxious and alone.

The opposite of how Grace was before ‘I was a chatterbox and loved to meet people’ Grace missed the person she used to be. When we met Grace, we matched her with a volunteer who visited her in her home, listened and helped. Slowly over time Grace was able to leave her home, go for coffee and lunch with her volunteer. Now a year later the difference is remarkable.  This Christmas Grace has met new friends; she can look forward to laughter and company on Christmas Day. Grace can face 2012 with a smile.

 Help us support more people like Grace this Christmas

Onside has been recognised for its excellent work in delivering mental health reablement services by Worcestershire County Council at its annual Worcestershire Partnership awards.

Launched in February,this flagship approach encourages support organisations to work together to assist vulnerable people with mental ill health recover.   

Worcestershire Reablement Service wins Compact Awards for 2011.

Front top left: Rethink, Shaw Trust, CAWF, ASHER, bottom left Onside, Epic & Tripod

praised how the eight providers, including Onside, worked together collaboratively to deliver recovery- focused, user- led services. They also commented that service users are empowered by being at the heart of decision making regarding their care and recovery journey.

Sarah Kane, project coordinator, at Onside said, “Previously Onside could be working independently with a person not knowing what other support they were using. This way we work in a co-ordinated, effective way with a shared approach centred around each individual.”

The focus of Onside’s project is to help people find volunteering and employment positions and, through mentoring support, have successfully found people both volunteering and paid work this year. Sarah continued, “This collaborative approach is the way forward and we are excited to have our early success recognised by the Worcestershire Partnership Awards”.

The team’s enthusiasm and flexibility have enabled this partnership to develop successfully while meeting the needs of the project users. Onside has found that people with, or recovering from, mental ill health often become caught in a cycle of illness, isolation, loss of self esteem and social isolation. Onside is hopeful that this county-wide collaborative approach can break this cycle and result in sustainable outcomes.