Nav-CARE is a free program that supports Yukoners with declining health to live independently at home. Nav-CARE play a crucial role in connecting individuals to community resources while offering companionship support to improve their quality of life.
Volunteering with Nav-CARE is a chance to make a meaningful impact in your community. Volunteers provide essential support to clients, helping them remain independent and engaged for as long as possible. Through regular home visits, Nav-CARE volunteers help alleviate feelings of loneliness, assist with daily tasks, and become a trusted resource for clients and their families.
As a Nav-CARE volunteer, you will:
– Help clients stay connected by locating and accessing community resources.
– Relieve feelings of loneliness and isolation by providing companionship
– Assist with non-medical tasks such as arranging transportation, helping with technology, or providing emotional support with difficult decision-making
– Engage in meaningful activities with clients, like sharing memories over tea or going for a walk
Volunteers will have regular check-ins with the Nav-CARE Coordinator and access to one-on-one mentorship, skills development, and peer support.
Who can be a Nav-CARE Volunteer?
Nav-CARE volunteering may be a good fit for you if you are:
– Mature, self-reflective
– Good at relationship building
– Problem-solver
– Know your community, know how to find things, and how to get things done
– Above all, compassionate and like to work with people
You don’t need to be a healthcare expert to volunteer!
Nav-CARE offers specialized training that equips volunteers with skills in
– Relationship building, self awareness, and compassion
– Advocacy for clients and families
– Facilitating community connections and promoting active engagement
Volunteers typically work with one or two clients and visit each client weekly or bi-weekly. Visits can be an hour or an afternoon. You’ll have flexibility to coordinate visits based on your schedule and the client’s needs.
Safety and Boundaries
Nav-CARE emphasizes client and volunteer safety:
– Volunteers undergo background checks and training on maintaining boundaries and respecting privacy
– Safety planning and pre-visit screenings are part of every client’s engagement
– Volunteers provide companionship and support but do not handle personal care or medical tasks.
Nav-CARE Volunteers visit people in the community, not in a facility or care home.
Nav-CARE Volunteers are not health care navigators.
Nav-CARE Volunteers make visits during daytime hours.
Volunteer Screening involves
*RCMP vulnerable sector check
*two character references
We ask for a minimum commitment of one year.
Volunteers are required to complete two full days of training.
Upcoming training sessions are November 29 and December 10, 10-4 PM, at the Whitehorse Public Library, Lupine Room.
Training modules can be completed online for those who cannot attend the in-person training.
What’s in it for you?
The reward of helping improve a person’s quality of life
Cherished relationships and lifelong connections
New friends and networking with other volunteers
Gain skills in counseling, palliative care, nursing care, and other supportive roles in social service and health care.
**Nav-CARE Volunteers have said that developing supportive relationships is one of the most rewarding experiences of being a navigator. **
