Who can become a volunteer? What do volunteers do?

Nightstop volunteers are ordinary people who want to reduce the problems facing young homeless people.

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• Our hosts have a spare room in their home, which can be used to keep a young person off the streets one night at a time.
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• Our drivers are able to provide safe and comfortable transportation from the referral agency to the host’s home for the placement.
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• Our telephone contact people take referrals from approved agencies to assist in accommodating a young person
• outside of the usual working business day hours.
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• Our outreach volunteers meet young people in an approved agency to complete referral forms outside of our usual working hours.
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Please contact us by phone or by email by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page if you are interested in volunteering

The young people who use Nightstop can be vulnerable.

For many this is the first time they have left home and are doing so under difficult circumstances. Young people often feel confused and hurt, which calls for great sensitivity and compassion on the part of anyone offering help in the form of emergency.

There is no specific criterion necessary for a person to volunteer for Nightstop, however those who have criminal convictions against children or have come to the attention of the social services because of their behaviour towards children will be automatically excluded.

Without volunteers we would not be able to operate the Nightstop scheme.

Volunteers provide a tremendous service to young people and their community, and many have discovered their own lives have been enriched by the Nightstop experience.

Nightstop is not a money making scheme, and we do not offer volunteers wages for their time, energy and dedication. We do, however, offer an expense reimbursement of £15 per night for hosts in regard to meals, gas/electricity, travel, etc.

For drivers and telephone contact people, we reimburse mileage and phone call expenses in line with Devon County Council’s standards.

Volunteers receive on-going support from the Nightstop staff, including opportunities to meet other Nightstop volunteers to share experiences, ideas or general insights to hosting, driving and being a telephone contact person or an agency contact person.

In conversations with Nightstop volunteers they remark that the work they do can be occasionally challenging, but for most it is very rewarding.

All volunteers who have a young person staying on a Nightstop placement receive 24-hour telephone support from the Community Housing Aid on-call team.

All Nightstop hosts are also listed on the 999 emergency line, meaning that should there be an emergency while a young person is on a Nightstop placement and the host contacts 999, the police will have all Nightstop host addresses and contact details ‘flagged’ so that local officers are aware of who they might meet.

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Nightstop Tel 01392 274853

Contact Nightstop by email