Volunteer for us

At Bristol Mind, we work with over 85 volunteers every year and consider ourselves to be very fortunate to have such dedication and expertise within our local community.

Volunteering for Bristol Mind is not just about giving back: via our structured and supportive placements, it can provide a pathway from lived experience through to training, work experience and eventual paid work within the mental health and allied professions.

Our volunteers come from diverse backgrounds, go through a competitive recruitment process and receive rigorous training in listening skills, customer service, equity & inclusion, safeguarding and trauma-informed practice.

You can sign up for our volunteer mailing list here if you’d like to be notified of future volunteer opportunities.

Volunteer Opportunities at Bristol Mind

Support better mental health across Bristol by volunteering with Bristol Mind and helping people in your community access the support they need to thrive.

Equitable Wellbeing Project Volunteer

Date & Time: 3.5hrs a week (on a Wednesday or Thursday)
Location: Bristol Mind, 48 Fairfax Street, BS1 3BL

Details:

Our vision is to support everyone in and around Bristol in achieving the best mental health possible. Our mission uses the power of our local community to create inclusive services based on lived experience.

Background:

In June 2026, Bristol Mind, SARI & the NHS Hope Service ran a Photo Voice Exhibition, showcasing photos and stories of people seeking sanctuary while living in hotels in Bristol’s city centre.

Now that the exhibition is over, we are looking for a long term online and physical home for the many pictures, stories and poems that are a result of the exhibition. You will work with the Equitable Wellbeing Project team to come up with ideas for where the physical copies could be kept long term. You will build relationships and collaborate with organisations, spaces and individuals in the city to come up with a plan to house the physical copies and, depending on experience, work with the Mind staff to create or plan an online platform to display the digital copies of the exhibition content.

This will help to build awareness of the asylum system in Bristol and support a lived experience group actively advocating for change. You don’t need previous experience of this type of work (unless you wish to take on the web design side in which case you will need some experience of WordPress).

Learning, Support and Recognition:

We are able to provide bus tickets to attend the office and meetings if needed.
It is a great opportunity to learn about Bristol Mind and meet its staff. We are also happy to provide a reference or endorsement based on the work if desired.
Refreshments and Facilities:

We have a kitchen with hot drinks available. We are based in the city centre close to a host of shops and cafes.
What you’ll need:

• An interest in the asylum system and working with people with lived experience of the asylum system
• The ability to either travel to (bus tickets can be provided) or run online meetings with different organisations, spaces and individuals
• Good communication and relationship building skills – to articulate ideas and engage potential partners effectively
• WordPress skills (not essential, only if you wish to take on the digital side of the project)

Location:

Time is likely to be split between the Bristol Mind office (and visiting spaces and organisations across the city if able) & home working.
Accessibility:

The Bristol Mind Office is wheelchair accessible. If you have any needs to take into consideration, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
How to apply:

Please email Eleni at [email protected]. Please include a short intro and why you would be suitable for this role.

Event Support Volunteer

Join our event volunteer team, meet new people, support fundraising activities across Bristol, and gain valuable experience while making a difference in your community.

Location
Various Bristol locations

Time Commitment
Flexible, event
based volunteering

About the Role

Help us deliver exciting community and fundraising events that bring people together and raise vital support for our work.
As an Event Support Volunteer, you’ll assist with event set-up, registration, welcoming attendees, stewarding activities, helping visitors, distributing information, and supporting event organisers throughout the day.

This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in events, community engagement, fundraising, customer service, or project management. No previous experience is required. Full guidance will be provided before each event.

Event Support Volunteer

Join our event volunteer team, meet new people, support fundraising activities across Bristol, and gain valuable experience while making a difference in your community.

Location

Various Bristol locations

Time Commitment

Flexible, event-based volunteering

We typically host 2-3 large events a year with monthly smaller events.

About the Role

Help us deliver exciting community and fundraising events that bring people together and raise vital support for our work.

As an Event Support Volunteer, you’ll assist with event set-up, registration, welcoming attendees, stewarding activities, helping visitors, distributing information, and supporting event organisers throughout the day.

This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in events, community engagement, fundraising, customer service, or project management.

No previous experience is required. Full guidance will be provided before each event.

Key Responsibilities

No two events look the same, you may be asked to…

Assist with event setup and pack-down
Welcome participants and provide event-day support
Help with registration desks, activities, and information stalls
Support the Fundraising Lead and wider team during events
Ensure events run smoothly and create a positive experience for attendees
Represent Bristol Mind within the local community

What You’ll Gain

Experience supporting live events and fundraising activities
Training and ongoing support from Bristol Mind staff
Development of communication, teamwork, and customer service skills
Opportunities to meet like-minded volunteers and professionals
References to support future employment, internship, and graduate applications
Networking opportunities within Bristol’s charity and community sector
The opportunity to volunteer with friends and be part of a fun, supportive team

Who We’re Looking For

Friendly, reliable, and enthusiastic students
Individuals who enjoy meeting and helping people
Strong team players
No previous experience required as full training will be provided
People who are passionate about supporting their local community and mental health initiatives

How it works…

We’ll contact volunteers about upcoming opportunities, and you can choose which events you’d like to get involved in. Simply reply to the invitation email to let us know you’re available. There’s no minimum commitment, but we hope you’ll join us whenever you can.

Bristol Mind Volunteering: Events + Fundraising team – Fill out form

How to volunteer:

If you’d like to be informed the next time opportunities arise, please sign up to our mailing list.

Mind Line Telephone Helpline

Mind Line is our free telephone listening service, open Wed-Sunday 7pm-11pm. Click here to find out more information.

Mind Line Volunteers are recruited from the local community and undergo intensive training over a period of 6 weeks. They join a vibrant and friendly team, working on a rota basis undertaking approximately one shift every fortnight, answering calls from the general public about their wellbeing and mental health concerns.

What we offer you

extensive, high quality training
be part of a lively team
regular supervision and support
the opportunity to develop your listening skills and awareness of mental health

What we expect from you

agree to work with us for at least a year
attend all the training sessions
work a four-hour shift approximately every fortnight
receive supervision for each shift on the helpline
attend 6-weekly volunteer meetings

Read more about the experience of one of our Mind Line volunteers.

We run volunteer intake and training courses twice a year, details are published here as soon as they are confirmed.

If you would like to be notified of this and future Mindline volunteering opportunities, please join our mailing list:

Information Service Volunteers

Bristol Mind’s Information Service is a daytime telephone line and email service, offering information and signposting to other local mental health and wellbeing services in the area. The service is non-directive – we don’t tell people what to do or give advice. Click here to find out more information.

Volunteers on our Information Service provide invaluable support to callers who often seen us as a first port of call for mental health issues or concerns. They can also provide information to people who are concerned about someone else, and will do their best to assist professionals using an up-to-date and comprehensive list of Bristol and South Glos. agencies.

We recruit our Info Line Volunteers from the local community. They undertake a three, half-day course of training and commit to at least one 3 hour shift a week, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm or 12:30 pm – 4:00 pm

What we offer you:

Extensive training, covering all areas of the role and the organisation
Regular supervision
An on-call support duty staff member during every shift
Travel expenses when working from the Bristol Mind office
The opportunity to develop your customer support skills and knowledge of mental health services

What we expect from you:

An agreement to volunteer with us for at least nine months
Full attendance at the volunteer training sessions
An empathetic, non-judgmental attitude towards our callers
Working one 3.5-hour shift each week, and keeping staff informed in a timely manner when this isn’t possible
Engagement with the supervision process
Attendance at Team Meetings each quarter

How to volunteer:

We are currently recruiting for Information Service volunteers. If you’d like to be informed the next time opportunities arise, please sign up to our mailing list.

Volunteer as a counsellor

Our counselling service is provided by a mix of qualified counsellors and those in training. Some of our Counsellors initially started with volunteering on our Mindline service and then decide to progress to train as a counsellor as a result!

We have an excellent reputation with a number of regional and national training providers, and we offer full support and clinical supervision to all of our counsellors at Bristol Mind.

We are very fortunate to attract highly skilled and sensitive trainee and qualified counsellors to help deliver our services and pride ourselves on our deliberately inclusive approach, with lived experience of being LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergence
Counsellors who have completed placements with Bristol Mind often comment on the warm, inclusive service and support: some counsellors stay with us way beyond their allocated placement.