Volunteer for the Wren Project
Volunteer and support someone living with autoimmune disease
Our volunteers provide support to people living with lifelong, incurable autoimmune conditions. Their role is not to offer advice or solutions, but instead to be with someone during a time of difficulty, pain and uncertainty. Volunteers show up for our Wrens, people we support, when others have not.
Volunteers offer fortnightly video or telephone sessions, where Wrens can speak openly about their experiences. They do not need to have any experience of autoimmune disease to volunteer, but instead commit to being present to a Wren’s distress and have a commitment to a person-centred approach to listening, not fixing. What our Wrens need is someone who has the capacity to listen, without judgement, to resist the urge to try to ‘make things better’ and to stay engaged when conversations feel heavy or complex.
We require our volunteers for a minimum commitment of one year to ensure continuity for the people we support.
What you gain as a volunteer
Volunteering in this role provides an opportunity to learn about yourself and how to stay present with someone else during moments of difficulty. Many volunteers find that supporting others through challenging times enhances their own ability to listen and connect more deeply with themselves and others. It also brings a deep sense of purpose to their life to be able to know you have been a support to someone during an impossibly difficult time.
Our five-week training is experiential, focusing on developing reflective listening skills through role play and discussion. You will learn person-centred approaches grounded in active, non-directive listening, helping you to support others without attempting to fix or minimise their experiences. You will meet like-minded people and join a community of volunteers dedicated to compassionate, person-centred care, with ongoing training and reflective practice sessions available throughout your time to ensure you feel fully supported.
“Thanks to Wren, I have learnt how to truly listen and provide a safe space for someone to open up about how they are feeling. This has impacted not only my conversations as a volunteer, but all areas of my life. Everyone should do this training.”
— Nicola, Wren Project Volunteer
What our volunteers have to say
Get ready to make an impact
Supporting Wrens involves meeting individuals at a very difficult point in their lives. After completing training in person-centred, non-fixing listening, you will offer a dependable space where people can express how they truly feel. This requires resilience, emotional containment and a willingness to stay with discomfort rather than avoid it.
Our approach is grounded in the belief that our presence should ethically support those we work with and that they hold the deepest knowledge of their own experiences. Through collaboration, we aim to make sense of difficult situations.
How to apply to become a volunteer
Anyone aged 18 or over and based in the UK can apply.You can register your interest via our application form, which is followed up by a group discovery conversation. If the role feels like a mutual fit, you will be invited to join our training programme.
What support and training will I get?
Training is provided to deepen listening skills and support our volunteers to sit with someone’s distress ethically and safely. Training takes place over five weekly online sessions (mid-week or weekend). It focuses on helping you to find the reflective listener within you that is required for ethical, non-directive listening and developing the internal stability needed for this work. The training is experiential drawing on person centered, existential and relational mindfulness philosophies. We will learn using role play and reflective feedback.
What does a listening session involve?
Listening sessions are one-to-one via MS Teams or phone. Each shift involves meeting with two Wrens once a fortnight, for up to 50 minutes each. You will continue with the same two Wrens for up to 6 months, allowing trust to develop and offering them a stable, reliable point of contact.
Our Commitment to you
As we invest in you by way of our high-quality training, we ask that you see our volunteering opportunity as a longer term commitment. We ask all volunteers to join the Wren Project for a minimum of one year.
Throughout your time with us, we ensure you as a volunteer feel supported. As well as ongoing training in active listening, you are encouraged to participate in online reflective practice sessions. This gives you a chance to talk openly about your experiences with a member of staff, and hear from other volunteers about their experiences. Reflective practice sessions help form part of your learning development journey here at Wren.
News from the Wren Project
