Volunteer with us

Thank you for wanting to volunteer with Barnabus. We don't have any volunteering opportunities available at the moment. Please check again in early January 2024 as we will re-open applications at this point if we have any vacancies.

Our wonderful volunteers are the heart of what we do at Barnabus, and the time you give us really makes a positive difference to the lives of people experiencing homelessness in Manchester. Our engagement team are always busy trying to secure accommodation and support for our guests, but they can only do this because our volunteers are there to greet and chat to guests, offer food and drink and ensure they have access to clean clothes and a shower. The time you spend talking to a guest helps the engagement team to find out what work we need to do for that guest, and may end up being a vital step to us finding the key information we need to help them.

We consider our volunteers to be an integral part of our team. We aim to ensure that you benefit from ongoing training and development, as well as providing the opportunity to build friendships and community with fellow volunteers and staff through various events during the year.

Volunteer roles at Barnabus

Currently the vast majority of our volunteer roles take place Monday to Thursday between either 07:00-8:45 or 08:45-12:30. Most volunteers help in the Beacon support centre serving breakfast, or talking to our guests to make them feel welcome and to find out how they are and how we can help. We also sometimes have volunteers in the kitchen and clothing room during our morning support session.

Please note that we will reimburse reasonable travel expenses for our volunteers to enable them to attend - we will provide details of how this works during your induction in the event that your application is successful.

Descriptions of all of our roles can be found here:

Early Morning Outreach Volunteer (07:00 - 8:30)

Rough Sleeper Breakfast Session Volunteer (07:00 - 08:45)

Rough Sleeper Support Session Volunteer (08:45 - 12:30)

Supported Living Projects Outreach Volunteer

God Slot Session Volunteer

Who are we looking for?

The main things we look for in any potential volunteer are a caring, non-judgmental nature and a passion for helping those in need in a practical way. You need to be at least 18 years of age to volunteer with us.

We also need you to be reliable, flexible, calm, able to work within a team and to get on with a wide range of people. Full details of the type of attributes and skills that we need can be found in the role descriptions.

We welcome volunteers from all backgrounds and with a range of different skills and experience. We are always keen to hear from you if you think we could use the particular skills and knowledge that you have.

Barnabus is a Christian charity, but you do not need to be a Christian to volunteer with us. We do ask though that you are sympathetic to our Christian values and respectful of our faith. If you are interested in volunteering within one of our Christian-specific roles, please email [email protected] to find out more rather than completing the attached application form.

Having a criminal record is often not a barrier to volunteering at Barnabus - we will look at each case individually. Please let us know if you want to discuss this before you apply.

If you want to talk to us about any issues before you decide to apply, please contact Martha Urwin for a chat by emailing [email protected].

Latest

Buy Someone Food Security This Christmas

This Christmas we are asking you to purchase ALDI Gift Cards so that we can gift them to our friends who cannot afford the essentials this Winter
What would make someone choose to sleep on the floor next to their bed rather than in it?

What would make someone choose to sleep on the floor next to their bed rather than in it? Some of the people we support struggle so deeply with trauma that even when they have a home they find themselves struggling or completely unable to sleep in the bed, instead they choose to sleep on the floor, on their sofas or sometimes even spending nights back on the streets.
Joining forces to protect people from life threatening illnesses

Imagine spending night after night in a cold damp doorway, with only a sleeping bag between you and the cold floor. The negative impact this has on your health is massive affecting every part of your body, but most of all repeated cold damp nights affect the respiratory and immune systems. Imagine facing another cold night on the streets but you are now coming down with the flu or a chest infection.
Trustees Week 2023

In trustee’s week we celebrate the skills, knowledge and experiences each trustee brings to Barnabus and how their collective decision making ensures we are working as best we can to deliver our charitable objectives now and for many years to come. They are also a wealth of guidance and support that our staff can draw on, to thrive in their roles.

Donate Items

Please support our work with donations of the items we are short of but need to run our services everyday. You can also support us through ordering urgently needed items online to be delivered to our door.
Volunteer with us

Our wonderful volunteers are the heart of what we do and without them, we couldn’t do the work we do to get people housed. We have volunteers from all over Greater Manchester, as well as Cheshire and Lancashire, all age groups and all walks of life.
Homelessness in Manchester

If you’ve walked the streets of Manchester, you’ve almost certainly passed by a rough sleeper. In fact, you’ve probably noticed that there are more people living and sleeping out on the streets. In 2010, the official rough sleeper figure was 7. In 2018, it was 94. Unfortunately, we know that in reality, the number is much higher. Please read on to find out more about homelessness in our city.
Dragon Boat Race, Sale Water Park, 11th May 2024

Join our Barnabus team at Sale Water Park for another fantastic sponsored Dragon Boat race across the lake. Have fun and at the same time help people on their journey from the streets and into a home for good.
Join our team

We currently have the following vacancies
I'm homeless and need help

Barnabus helps adults who are homeless – whether you’re living on the streets, in temporary accommodation or at risk of homelessness. If you have a family with dependents under the age of 18 or are under 18 yourself, we recommend that you contact your local authority immediately.
Our history

It all started in 1991 with one couple, some sandwiches and a flask of hot coffee. Walking the streets of Manchester, our founder Peter Green could not believe that there were people on his doorstep who had nothing. So, with a little help from his Christian faith, he set out to do something. Luckily, Peter and his wife Beryl had plenty of love – and sandwiches – to share.
How we're helping

The stress and anxiety people can suffer when they are homeless means they often feel afraid to reach out and taking that small step towards getting help can seem like a mammoth task. That’s why our team is there to help from the start, giving tailored support and advice every single step of the way.
Great Manchester Run, Sunday 26th May, 2024

We love this supporting our sponsored runners at this event. Set your self the personal goal of taking part in one of Europe's biggest 10km races and raising funds to change the lives of people without a home and we will do all we can to support you.
RENU Upcycling Furniture Project

Beautifully upcycled furniture for your home, from someone without one. Our upcycling project is all about upskilling our friends to empower them back into work.