Client Support Volunteers

Support clients who are living with life-limiting illness and their caregivers. Volunteers also support the bereaved. In all programs, Client Support Volunteers provide emotional, social, and practical support.

• Volunteer Visiting: Volunteer to visit with a palliative client or a bereavement client in the community (in-home), or visit with a resident at our Cook Family Residence.
• Volunteer Driver: Volunteer to drive a palliative client to and from medical appointments and hospice services.
• Day Away Program: Volunteers engage in meaningful support through activities, provide refreshments and give emotional / social support to palliative clients.
• Complementary Therapies: Certified Volunteers provide Therapeutic Touch, Reflexology, or Reiki to individuals, to provide relaxation and support wellness.
• Legacy: Volunteers support palliative individuals to create meaningful items they can leave to their loved ones.
• Hair Salon: Volunteer Hairstylists provide cuts, washes and styling to clients and residents, in the community and on-site.
• Support Groups: Volunteer to help in bereavement and art workshops.
• Pet Therapy: Volunteers bring their certified therapy animal to our facility to visit with clients and staff. Proof of therapy pet certification required.
• Vigil: Volunteer to vigil at the bedside, so that no one dies alone.
• Ambassador: Volunteers provide presentations in the community on topics such as advance careplanning, hospice palliative care, death and dying, and HWR programs and services.
• Bereavement Walking Group: Volunteers walk with bereaved individuals in a city-maintained park, providing an opportunity for clients to discuss their loss and receive peer support, while outside innature.
• Refreshment Cart: Volunteers visit suites in the Cook Family Residence, offering refreshments, hospitality and social / emotional support to residents and their visitors.

Client Support Volunteers will fulfill and pass Hospice Waterloo Region’s onboarding steps, demonstrate a commitment to preparing for the roles they are assigned to, and commit to supporting clients and as well as their own wellness.

• Must be at least 19+ years of age
• Attend 35-hour Hospice Waterloo Region Training Course and complete all associated training modules and tasks (blend of on-line and in-person training)
• Program specific information and training will be provided
• Provide required paperwork (i.e. Police Vulnerable Sector Check)
• Volunteer Driver, they will have to provide proof of a valid driver’s license, car insurance and a driver’s abstract
• Therapeutic Touch, Reiki, or Reflexology Volunteer must provide proof of TT / Reiki / Reflexology training certificates
• Applicants that have experienced the death of a significant person in their life are asked to wait one year afterwards before applying to volunteer.
• Applicants are asked to commit to at least one year of volunteering.

The following is a list of topics that are covered in the 35-hour training, based on the HPCO (Hospice Palliative Care Ontario) standardized provincial volunteer training curriculum:

• Orientation to Hospice Palliative Care and Hospice Waterloo Region
• The Client Support Volunteer Role and Boundaries
• Emotional & Psychological Aspects of Death and Dying
• Communication
• De-escalation Strategies
• Spirituality, Diversity and End-of-Life Rituals, Cultural Considerations
• Positive Space & 2SLGBTQIA+ issues at end-of-life (Hospice Waterloo Region considers itself a Positive Space. As part of our commitment to Positive Space, training will include a module covering sexual and gender diversity and 2SLGBTQIA+ issues at end-of-life.)
• Pain & Symptom Management, Comfort Measures and Nearing Death Awareness
• Cancer and Illness-Specific Information
• Advance Care Planning
• Practice Session in Turns, Transfers, Feeding, Mouth Care, Wheelchair Etiquette, Hand Hygiene, PPE
• Adult Grief and Children’s Grief
• Family and Ethics
• Mentor Panel discussion with Experienced Volunteers
• Self-care and Care for the Caregiver

1. Submit an application that includes three references
2. Meet with our Volunteer Coordinator for an interview
3. Complete training (mix of in-person and e-learning)
4. Provide required paperwork (i.e. police check)
5. Complete any role-specific training
6. And get started with a weekly or bi-weekly role!