There are a number of direct and indirect ways in which people can get involved in tackling crime and anti social behaviour.
People can volunteer direct with the Police, Neighbourhood Watch, Victim Support, to support the services that these organisations deliver.

There are opportunities to work with projects involved in preventative work – at a neighbourhood level e.g Bognor CAN, Youth activities, LAUK etc and also to work with organisations involved in rehabilitative work such as the Probation Service, Stonepillow, Adult Literacy, Homelink. Local Churches and Faith Groups also often have specific local initiatives in place. Volunteering to support activities such as Football clubs, Music groups etc also has an impact as it ensures there are opportunities for people to get involved in positive activities within their communities.

CVS works in partnership with Outset Youth Action when it comes to young people volunteering. They are a specialist service that has all the appropriate training, policies and support in place for young people. Outset work through most of the local schools but young people can also go to them direct. Outset link closely with our Volunteer Centre to find the type of voluntary placements that young people want.

Volunteering is a great way for a young person to get the experience and skills which can enhance their future opportunities. We all know it can be difficult for a young person to show they have experience, and volunteering can provide this and an all important reference. It also forms part of schemes such as the Prince's Trust and Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

It is not quite clear as yet exactly how the vision of the Big Society will develop in Arun. However in principal it is already here and has been for a long time. Most communities and neighbourhoods have groups and associations, run by volunteers for local people. In fact over 60% of Voluntary /Community Groups in West Sussex fall into this category and there are about 5,000 + of them! However volunteers aren’t free, they need support and resources to be effective whether these are financial or in terms of equipment, venues etc.

Nothing is clear as yet in terms of funding to support increased volunteering. Our worry is that by the time funding becomes available we will have lost a number of staff and projects that would have a significant part to play in the development of volunteering locally, due to funding cuts.

CVS has only fairly recently joined the Partnership and our role is to highlight how and where Voluntary and Community groups are contributing to the partnerships priorities and, importantly promote and broker partnership working.

With shrinking resources we have shown that we can achieve much more by working together. The local, ‘grass roots’ nature of much voluntary/community activity helps give the partnership an introduction to people and communities – particularly those that have negative views on some of the services and agencies. Developing positive joint working relationships can help tackle mistrust and build positive links.

The Arun Volunteer Centre is run by Derek Moore, the centre co-ordinator and has Offices in the Town Hall Bognor and The Bradbury Centre in St Martins Lane, Littlehampton.They have a list of Voluntary and Community groups who are looking for Volunteers to help with a wide variety of tasks – you can telephone 01903 731223 or 01243 840305.

You can also check out the Do it! Website www.do-it.org.uk and see the types of opportunities available in the Arun area, the site will then direct you to Arun Volunteer Centre to follow up on your enquiry.

CVS is both a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. It is governed by a Board of Directors drawn from it’s member organisations and has 5 main roles. 

Services and support: CVS promote the effectiveness of local voluntary and community groups by providing them with a range of services. These may include access to basic facilities, such as meeting rooms, photocopiers and ICT equipment. CVS also support local groups through regular newsletters, training, funding advice, advice on good practise in setting up and running organisations or groups. This may include providing model documents or helping with Charity registration etc.

Liaison: As a focal point for the local voluntary and community sector, CVS encourage networking between individuals and groups within the sector, and between local groups and the statutory and private sectors. This allows local groups to learn from one another, establish contacts and work more effectively.

CVS also help different communities to organise their own networking activity. We hold a regular Community Networking lunch and also facilitate the Housing/Homeless Forum

Representation: With government encouraging involvement of voluntary and community groups in shaping and delivering services, CVS enable the views of local groups to be represented.

Development work: CVS works with partners to identifying gaps in service provision and work with groups to develop new and innovative services to meet these needs e.g currently the Expanding Communities Team

Strategic partnerships: CVS work in partnership with local government and other statutory agencies to shape the delivery of services. CVS play a key role in empowering local groups to take part in partnerships and are directly involved in a wide range e.g. Arun Local Strategic Partnership, The Wellbeing & Health Partnership, Safer Arun Partnership, West Sussex Building Stronger Partnerships group etc.

CVS currently runs the Expanding Communities Project employing a team of 6 multi lingual workers from Poland, Portugal, Lithuania and the Ukraine who:

1. Provide 1-1 advice and support to members of the Migrant Worker community,

2. Work with Organisations and agencies to improve their understanding of cultural and language difficulties and improve access to services

3. Work within the community to promote integration and understanding 

Stonepillow is one of our member organisations and take advantage of our networking and training opportunities as and when they can. We promote their work within the partnerships we attend but our primary role in supporting work to help homeless people is to make sure everyone knows what different Voluntary and Community organisations are doing or could do to offer support, services and information.