The idea of supported volunteering seems to cause a lot of confusion. Are the support workers of volunteers with disabilities volunteers themselves? If not, how are they handled?
Imagine this scenario: A call comes in one morning. A support worker named Marcus is on the line, explaining that his client, Diane, has been wanting to volunteer. She loves animals and has heard wonderful things about your organisation. Could she come in?
You say yes, of course, and start walking through your usual onboarding process — and then Marcus asks the question. “I’ll be with her. What do you need from me?”
And you realise you have no idea.
If this sounds familiar, you’re in good company. Volunteers who are accompanied by support workers are one of the most under-served groups in our sector, and most volunteer leaders are making it up as they go. There’s no standard guidance that I’ve found, no consensus on best practices, and very little written about supported volunteering.
A review published in the journal VOLUNTAS identified a barrier: the belief among some leaders of volunteers that supporting a volunteer with a disability would simply be “too resource intensive.” So when the volunteer is accompanied by a support worker, it should make it that much easier to manage. Except that we can’t figure out where the support worker fits in.
So let’s talk about that question: is a support worker a volunteer?
The short answer is: probably not. But that doesn’t mean you can ignore them.
A support worker accompanying a volunteer is there in a professional capacity. Their primary duty of care runs to their client, not to your organisation or its mission. They are, in most cases, being paid to be there. Calling them a volunteer would be both inaccurate and potentially confusing. Imagine asking a professional caregiver to fill out an application form for themselves as though they’ve freely chosen to serve your cause!
As well, the legal picture is worth understanding. Every jurisdiction will be different, of course, but under Canadian common law, organisations can face liability for the actions of anyone operating under their direction and control on their premises — not just paid staff or formal volunteers. If something goes wrong while Marcus is on site supporting Diane, the question of your organisation’s responsibility doesn’t simply disappear because he’s not on your volunteer roster. This is reason enough to have a clear policy and process for support workers — not to formalise them as volunteers, but to ensure everyone understands expectations, safety protocols, and who to call if something unexpected happens.
Think of it less like onboarding and more like a good host welcoming a guest.
Here’s what supported volunteering might look like in practice.
When a support worker first makes contact — and they are likely to be the one initiating the conversation — respond to them as you would to any prospective volunteer’s enquiry. Acknowledge that you’ve worked with supported volunteers before (or that you’re happy to figure it out together), and ask a few practical questions. Will the support worker be there the entire time the volunteer is serving, or will they only drop them off and pick them up? Who is the point of contact if there is a schedule change or any other communication? Is there anything about the volunteer’s needs that would help you design the role more effectively?
If they’re going to be with the volunteer at all times, it might help to think of the support worker and the volunteer as the same person from an administrative standpoint. Only one application form would need to be completed, only one orientation done, etc. The worker will likely already have the highest level of screening done. I recommend that they still sign the Code of Conduct and any liability waivers, but keep them in the same file as the volunteer’s. As for training, site safety reviews, etc, they will be doing that with their client anyway.
It’s also worth thinking about the volunteer role itself. The most effective supported volunteering roles are ones where the role has been genuinely designed around the volunteer’s interests and strengths, rather than squeezed into a generic slot. As the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota notes, volunteering has enormous benefits for people with developmental disabilities — social connection, skill-building, community belonging — but those benefits are maximised when the role is thoughtfully designed, not incidental.
One more thing worth considering: the support worker’s own relationship to your mission.
Don’t assume indifference, and don’t assume engagement. Some support workers will come to do their job professionally, without much personal connection with what your organisation does. Others, over time, will come to care genuinely about your cause. They may become advocates for your work or even, eventually, become volunteers themselves.
When it comes down to it, the question is less whether a support worker is a volunteer or not, as what systems can you put in place to welcome them, whichever way they show up.
