This report summarises the findings of a survey of volunteering by people with experience of mental ill health carried out by the National Centre for Volunteering.
The impetus for the survey came from the growing recognition that, although people with mental health problems were often seen as the passive recipients of voluntary activity, many were in fact volunteers themselves and found the activity highly beneficial for their subjective well-being. With the aim of promoting volunteering by service users/survivors, the survey therefore set out to demonstrate the value of volunteering to mental health and raise awareness of mental health issues throughout the voluntary sector.
The survey gathered accounts of voluntary work from more than a hundred volunteers with direct experience of mental ill health. Although a sample of this size is not representative of a whole population, it yielded a set of findings that provide useful signposts for future development.
Respondents said that their mental health difficulties had had a variety of negative effects on their lives, including unemployment, a lack of confidence and motivation, an inability to concentrate, difficulties in trusting people, an inability to make or sustain friendships, and feelings of isolation, frustration and anxiety.
Respondents also agreed that volunteering had done much to improve their mental health. Specifically, it had given structure, direction and meaning to their life, widened their social networks, improved their vocational and interpersonal skills and helped them to gain access to employment, education and training.
The findings
1. Experience of volunteering
How often do you volunteer?
A majority of respondents volunteered every week, and a much smaller proportion volunteered every day.
How long have you been volunteering?
Around a quarter of respondents had been volunteering for between one and three years, while smaller proportions had been doing so for less than six months or for more than ten years.
What kind of setting do you volunteer in?
A majority of respondents volunteered for mental health-related organisations. Others volunteered in charity shops, health and social care settings and hospitals.
What type of volunteering do you do?
The most common roles were secretarial/administration, offering support or counselling, visiting people/befriending and giving advice/information.
2. Getting into volunteering
What were your reasons for volunteering?
Respondents were motivated to volunteer for a variety of reasons. Half did so because they thought that volunteering might make them feel better. Others wanted to meet new people and make new friends, to support a specific organisation or to improve their job prospects. A few volunteered because they had been asked to do so – and a very few were encouraged to volunteer by their Jobcentre.
How did you find out about your current voluntary work?
Around a third of respondents found out through the local volunteer bureau. The remainder were referred by mental health professionals or found out by word of mouth, contacting the organisation directly or responding to an advertisement.
3. Barriers to volunteering
Would you like to do more volunteering?
Around half the respondents said Yes – but explained that they were unable to do more volunteering because of lack of time, competing commitments or ill health.
The other half said No, giving a wide variety of reasons: they lacked the time or had competing commitments; they were afraid of starting something new; they were happy with the amount of volunteering they did already; they could not manage to do any more; there was insufficient choice of opportunities; they could not afford to volunteer; there was insufficient information.
What concerns did you have prior to volunteering?
Almost half the respondents said that they had lacked confidence in themselves and their skills. Others weren’t sure whether they would like volunteering or could afford the travel and other expenses. A few were worried about other people’s reactions to their mental health history.
Which factors affect your experience of volunteering?
Half the respondents said they were affected by other people’s lack of awareness of mental health issues or by their opinions on those issues. Others cited the lack of information about how their benefits might be affected, the side effects of medication, the need to provide references and work history on application forms, the limited choice of voluntary activities and the attitudes of staff and other volunteers in voluntary organisations. However, some respondents reported no negative experiences while volunteering.
What might persuade you to do more volunteering?
The following incentives were suggested: payment of expenses; more support; better health; more time; more rewarding and appropriate opportunities; more information about available opportunities; and more encouragement from a range of people.
4. Support and training
Who usually supervises you?
A majority of respondents were supervised by a paid staff member, and a much smaller proportion by a volunteer co-ordinator or manager (paid or unpaid).
What types of support and training do you receive?
Nearly three-quarters of respondents had their out-of-pocket expenses reimbursed. Around half were given ongoing training and had regular meetings with their supervisors. Other forms of support included induction training, pre-volunteering training, peer volunteer support and mentoring or ‘buddying’ schemes.
What types of support do you find most useful?
Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses and training (especially pre-volunteering training and a robust induction process) were cited as the most valuable forms of support.
How effective is the support you receive?
Nearly all the respondents said that they always (or generally) know what is expected of them. A half said that they always get the support they need, and nearly a third said that they often get the support they need.
How do you define good support?
‘Supervisors who are knowledgeable, conscientious, understanding, honest, appreciative and respectful’, ‘someone on hand to answer questions or listen to concerns’ and ‘the feeling that you are a member of a team’ were cited as the three most important elements of good support.
5. The impacts of volunteering
What effect has your volunteering had on you?
Respondents stated that their volunteering had had a range of positive effects: it had given them a sense of purpose and achievement; it was both rewarding and interesting; it had increased their confidence; and it had given them the chance to learn new skills.
How has volunteering affected your prospects of paid employment in future?
Again, respondents said that volunteering had had a positive impact on their job prospects: it had helped them to develop future career plans; it had increased their chances of employment. Some said they hoped it would lead to paid work or to further training and education. However, a sizeable minority of respondents said that they preferred volunteering and had no plans to seek paid employment.
What impact has volunteering had on your mental health?
Almost all respondents said that it had had a positive effect.
What impact has paid employment had on your mental health?
By contrast, almost a quarter of respondents said that paid employment had contributed to their mental health difficulties. Others stated that mental health difficulties had interfered with their ability to do paid work.
What are the disadvantages of volunteering for you?
More than a third of respondents said that they couldn’t always cope with their volunteering, and that this made them feel stressed. Others felt that their voluntary work could be better organised, that it was difficult to talk about mental health issues with the staff of the organisation, and that the organisation did not really need them.
6. Encouraging others to volunteer
Respondents suggested mental health services, local support organisations, volunteer bureaux, GP surgeries, benefits agencies and Jobcentres as the most appropriate bodies to give people with mental health difficulties information about volunteering.
Two-thirds of respondents said that the most effective way of informing potential volunteers was via key workers or support staff, and a further two-thirds said that would-be volunteers should speak to other volunteers. Printed material, in the form of books, leaflets and factsheets, was also suggested as a valuable way of providing information.
Conclusions and recommendations
The survey findings suggest that the following factors are important in determining whether people with mental health difficulties volunteer:
- Money matters. Whether expenses are reimbursed and whether advice about benefits entitlement is available.
- Social attitudes. The level of awareness about mental illness displayed by other people in the organisation.
- Motivating factors. Whether the people concerned are explicitly looking for something that will make them feel better. The survey shows that volunteering can achieve this.
- Self confidence. How far mental illness and its consequences – such as loss of employment, breakdown of relationships and social exclusion – have affected the self-confidence of the person concerned.
- Attitude to paid employment. Some respondents moved into paid work as a result of their volunteering, while others said that they did not want another paid job because it had made their mental health problems worse.
- Availability of alternatives. The fact that many of the respondents volunteered regularly for a mental health-related organisation may mean that the range of opportunities available elsewhere to people with mental health difficulties is restricted.
- The quality of support. Regular support and supervision by people with good interpersonal skills and knowledge of the implications of mental ill health will improve the engagement and retention of volunteers with mental health problems.
Recommendations for further research
Further research is needed to explore in greater depth issues such as the inclusiveness of volunteering and of organisations, the benefits of volunteering, the barriers to volunteering, the role of volunteer bureaux and the provision of information on volunteering.
The research
This report summarises the findings of a survey of volunteering by people with experience of mental ill health carried out by the National Centre for Volunteering. To receive a copy of the full report, or for more information about the Institute for Volunteering Research, call 020 7520 8900 or e-mail instvolres@aol.com.
The survey was part of the Volunteering for Mental Health project within the National Centre for Volunteering, which was funded by the Department of Health. A companion publication 'You cannot be serious! Involving volunteers with mental health problems' has been published by the National Centre for Volunteering (2003).
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