Wolverhampton, England, United Kingdom
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), in partnership with Wolverhampton Voluntary and Community Action (WVCA) has been awarded funding from NHS Charities Together for project Holistic Opportunities Preventing Exclusion (HOPE). The HOPE project aims to support vulnerable people across the community of Wolverhampton who have attended their GP practice with feelings of loneliness, isolation, and depression, and have now been referred on to the Social Prescribing Service. There are currently more than 3,000 referrals a year to the Social Prescribing Service, following a spike in referrals for mental health in the last two years following the COVID-19 pandemic. The HOPE Project has a Volunteer Coordinator and Administration Officer who will be recruiting, training, and managing 200 HOPE volunteers, across the 2 years. RWT will be working in partnership with WVCA where the Social Prescribing Link Workers are based. Out HOPE volunteers will be working closely with the Link Workers who will provide our volunteers with caseloads of those accessing the Social prescribing Service. Our volunteers will continue to make a positive impact on the lives of vulnerable people across Wolverhampton, helping them reintegrate into society through meaningful activities and hobbies, and improving their mental wellbeing.