FAQs

Gig Buddies participants are adults with mild to moderate learning disabilities and/or autism. At this stage it is not being offered for those who live in Supported Accommodation/Residential Services. Participants need to be 18 years old or older

No, age is just a number for us, there are no age restrictions, other than being 18 and over.

The short answer is that, yes, if you have support needs that need to be managed while attending events etc, your support worker would need to come along. We want you and your volunteer to become friends, so the support worker must stay in the background and only assist when needed, to help you and your matched volunteer build a relationship. Volunteers are not trained as support workers, and cannot replace them.

Yes, our volunteers are Police-checked and receive training around disability.

Both the buddy and volunteer pay for their own tickets and travel costs. Each pairing is different. Let us know if you want to spend money on gigs or set a spending limit.

No, we are not currently accepting applications from people who live in supported accommodation/residential services, as your support workers can and should support you to attend events of your choice.

No, a 'gig' can be whatever you want it to be! It could be going to theatre, the movies, museums, art galleries, or watching live sports events. Whatever your interests are, we will try to find you a buddy who wants to do the same things as you.

At Gig Buddies, we recognize that everyone is different. We try to get to know each person as an individual, and match them with volunteers who share same interests. Age, gender, and location preferences are also considered, so it may take some time to make a match, and we cannot guarantee that everyone will find a buddy.

Just click on "Become a buddy" at the top of this website, and go through the "Participant" sign up process.

The intent of this project is to help create friendships, so some form of communication is needed. If you can sign, we can try to find a volunteer who also signs, or if you use an iPad app to communicate, this may still work well for a volunteer. If you have no form of communication, it will make it hard for you to build a relationship, so this project may not be for you.

If you are a Whanau member or Support Worker considering signing up someone for this initiative, there's a couple of key considerations: Have you discussed it with them, and do they want it? Are they a good fit i.e. fairly independent, has a genuine interest in getting out and about, and will engage with the opportunity. If the answer is no to any of the above, they are probably not a good fit. In terms of applicants who are in supported accommodation, we are not currently offering this opportunity for anyone in these types of services, as there are other ways for you to attend gigs ie with your support workers. Please think carefully about whether an application is realistic, and likely to result in an engaged and active participation in the context of this project.

We have partnered with the Student Volunteer Army to launch Gig Buddies Auckland. If you are interested in becoming a buddy, you can do so by clicking "Become a buddy" at the top of this website, then completing the Volunteer application.

Gig Buddies Auckland is an initiative of Spectrum Care, a non-profit that aims to support disabled people to live their lives of choice.

Yes, all volunteers are required to complete training before becoming a buddy.

The Gig Buddies team will always be on hand to provide support to both volunteers and participants. If it doesn't work out, or your circumstance change, we'll offer support to see if there's something we can do - and that may include finding a new buddy.