Independent Visitors
Helping children to thrive.
Become an Independent Visitor for Young People in Care
Make a difference in the lives of young people in care by becoming a volunteer. We primarily support young people in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar, and Darlington and we need caring individuals like you.
No matter your age or background, whether you’re 21 or 81, with or without experience working with young people, what truly matters is your willingness to listen, support, and be a reliable presence in their lives. As a volunteer, you’ll spend quality time together, engaging in activities twice a month to build a trusting and meaningful connection.
Young people in care often face instability and lack consistent adult relationships. By becoming an Independent Visitor (IV) volunteer, you can be that one constant, trusted adult who helps them feel valued and supported.
Ready to make an impact? Join us today!
- An Independent Visitor ('IV') is a volunteer who specifically supports a child or young person living in care. This could be foster care or a residential children's home.
- The role is unique and unlike any of the other support offered to children in care. Whereas social workers, foster parents and living arrangements for children can change, the IV should be a consistent and reliable figure.
- It is a befriending role that is built over time. IVs take an interest in the lives, hopes and concerns of a child or young person, and are there to listen and most of all have fun.
- You need to be 21+ to apply. We welcome enquiries and applications from people of all backgrounds.
- You live in Teesside.
- Use of a car is beneficial but not essential.
- No previous experience of supporting young people is necessary. We provide full training.
- We are looking for volunteers with the right values. People who can befriend, support, advise and are committed to young people reaching their potential. Our volunteers engage, inspire and motivate young people who need help overcoming difficulties in their life and would benefit from a listening ear.
The requirement is you are able to see the young person twice a month (usually on evenings and weekends) for a minimum of 2 years. The role is subject to an informal interview and training. All activities and mileage costs are reimbursed.
We've made it really straightforward to get in touch with us or even just jump straight to applying for the role.
To speak to a team member call us on 01429 891 444 or leave us a message here.
We ask all our volunteers to complete a quick application form. You can do this all online by following this link.
Once we receive an application form, we'll book in you for an informal volunteer interview usually on Zoom. It's an opportunity to meet the team and find out more about the role.
1. Application – the first step is a simple application form to fill in that tells us a bit about you and your experience/background
2. Interview – our interview is an opportunity for us to get to know you better and go through your application responses.
3. References – it is essential that we receive at least two referees from you as part of our safer recruitment policy.
4. Training – you will receive comprehensive training from us, fully-funded and flexible around your commitments. At this point we’ll also carry out checks such as DBS.
5. Matching – Right from the beginning we are thinking about getting you matched with the right young person. We’ll find out even more about you and what you like doing.
6. And you’re off! - We’ll support you every step of the way to get to know your young person, manage your funding and all the questions that will crop up along the way.
Are you interested in becoming an Independent Visitor?
What Young People Say About Their IV's
They’re great. I can talk to them. Before them, I didn’t have anyone to talk to. They helped me move into a better placement where now I am a lot happier with my new carer.
They’re nice and funny. I am happy being matched with them. I trust them. They’re great and we get on well. We have a good bond”.
Lucy
Lucy had always been passionate about helping young people and wanted to gain some experience for her future career in social care. She was matched with a 12-year-old girl named Maddie.
Lucy and Maddie quickly hit it off. They love grabbing a coffee and going for long walks. Lucy loved being able to plan activities, and Milly loved getting out and about!
"It's an opportunity to make a difference, to learn new things, and to feel a sense of purpose that can only come from helping others."
Sam
Sam was taken into foster care at 14, after some really tough times at home. It wasn’t safe him living at home any more. Obviously this was a really upsetting change for Sam and it spilled out into problems at school, where he was close to being expelled.
Derik became Sam’s Independent Visitor and over the months built a really close relationship. They did all sorts together – from playing crazy golf and going to the cinema, to walks where they had time to just chat. Having Derik around made a huge difference to Sam. Sam’s foster parent said:
“Derik makes such a difference in Sam’s life and we have strong progress around behaviour and talking about feelings”.
