
The mental health crisis and the youth’s need for social prescribing
In the week of Children’s Mental Health and a newly appointed Youth Mental Health Ambassador, we discuss why the social prescribing conversation must continue.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the opportunity for digital solutions to get help to the most vulnerable people in our communities, whilst relieving the pressure on the health sector. Support with everyday tasks like shopping, collecting prescriptions or dog walking help not only those residents unable to get out and about, but the wellbeing of those undertaking the volunteering.
And with continual pressure on the voluntary sector due to government pressure on charity sector funding, the role of digital tools to streamline and speed up support is clear.
Impactful Volunteering. Understanding the impact of volunteering on volunteers. NCVO research, 2018
The volunteering module is designed to connect volunteers with residents in needs of their support quickly and easily. Supporting both individual volunteers and larger special interest community organisations and charities, requests for help are uploaded onto the platform and matched, in real-time, to those volunteers who are ready and able to assist.
Screening of volunteers and issuing of ID badges is an integral in-platform feature speeding up the onboarding on new volunteers in time of particular need.
Within the space of a few weeks at the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020, a new Priority Platform volunteering module was mobilised to support 400,000 vulnerable adults in Essex.
Connecting Volunteers and Community Organisations to residents in need of support.
Swift onboarding and approval of volunteers
Residents and carers register support requests
Regular alerts for new volunteering jobs relevant to each volunteer
Ability for specialist organisations to manage volunteering tasks