In early June 2025, during Volunteers Week, a team of staff and volunteers welcomed the Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Chief Whip, Jane Hutt to the St Giles BOOST Hub in Newport. There she met staff and women supported by BOOST who have achieved Learning to Advise certification and NVQs in Advice and Guidance, whilst also receiving support in accessing volunteering opportunities.
Read more about St Giles’ BOOST project
Whilst at the hub, the team also discussed the progress of the ‘Experts by Experience’ project – which has been funded by the WCVA / Welsh Government’s Strategic Volunteering Grant.
The project aims to create inclusive volunteering opportunities for people with lived experience of the criminal justice system, poverty, violence and exploitation across Wales.
Anne-Marie Rogan, Business Development Manager for St Giles Cymru said:
“Our project aims to break down barriers for those with lived experience of adversity who want to volunteer.
We’ve created the ‘Experts By Experience’ self-assessment toolkit for employers across all sectors and developed a digital platform launched this month that will connect organisations with individuals seeking volunteering pathways. This funding has been crucial in helping us drive meaningful change in how Wales approaches inclusive volunteering.”
A campaign is rolling out over the next 12 months to embed lived experience volunteering in Wales. The aim is to work closely with the third and statutory sector, alongside private sector partners, to introduce, support and embed the model across Wales. This will include workshops, events and inductions for potential users and wider stakeholders.
The toolkit will have two core functions:
- Supporting grassroot smaller organisations to learn and embed a lived experience model with practical tips and tools that could support them to implement their own lived experience volunteering strategy through such methods as co-design, peer evaluation and co-production as well as service delivery.
- Also designed for individuals with lived experience, the platform will provide insight and awareness on how they can use their lived experience to access service delivery opportunities whether through volunteering or paid work. The platform will have links to opportunities, job roles, resources for employability support, information on disclosure and guidance around self-care.
With approximately 1 in 4 adults in the UK of working age having a criminal record, the toolkit has an ambition to be a vital resource in supporting organisations to effectively recruit and retain individuals as well as providing access to opportunity and building brighter futures for individuals and those they care about.
The ‘Embedding Lived-Experience Wales’ Campaign and ‘Experts By Experience’ Toolkit is being rolled out by Campaign Lead, Gillian Wilde – if you’d like to learn more, or get involved please send an email to: gillian.wilde@stgilestrust.org.uk
St Giles Cymru will be taking part in the ‘Volunteering as a Way of Life for Everyone?’ session at this year’s Gofod3 Conference at Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday 2nd July. To read more or register, please follow the following link: https://gofod3.cymru/events/volunteering-as-a-way-of-life-for-everyone/
The Gofod3 Conference is Wales’ space for the Voluntary Sector and is run by the WCVA.