How was your shift?
Get it off your chest.
Community, hospital, emergency, sport, animal, food relief, environment and charity volunteers. Put down what you're carrying before you go home.
Which best describes you?
This changes a few questions and which support lines come first. You can change it any time.
Everything you enter stays on this phone. Nothing is sent to your organisation, your coordinator or anyone else. Unladen Hands is in early release and still being tested with the people it's for. It is not a medical or emergency service and is not connected to any organisation or government agency. · Give feedback
Take a moment.
Take a few minutes for yourself. You're allowed to stop.
Breathe with this
What you might be feeling
- Shaky, sick, or a racing heart
- Numb, or oddly calm
- Tearful, angry, or both
- Going over what you could have done differently
These are normal reactions. They usually settle over hours or days.
If someone hurt or threatened you
It isn't part of volunteering and it isn't your fault. Tell your volunteer coordinator and report it. Get checked if you were hurt.
Ground yourself
Look around. Name them, out loud or in your head.
Call someone now
Add your coordinator, another volunteer or someone close to you in so they're here when you need them.
Not sure who to tell?
If you don't feel safe telling your volunteer coordinator, there are other people you can go to. Or write down what happened, just for you, while it's fresh.
What helps after
Handover to yourself
A few minutes after volunteering. Notice what you're carrying, then leave what you can at the door.
Please talk to someone now
You said you've had thoughts of harming yourself or not wanting to be here. Please call one of these now. If you're in immediate danger, call 000.
Light load
This phone isn't letting the page save. Your result shows here but won't be kept.
Your safety
You said you didn't feel fully safe. That matters. Tell your volunteer coordinator. Organisations have a duty to keep volunteers safe.
Getting home safely
You said you've got very little energy left. If you're driving, a 15 to 20 minute nap before you leave can help, or get a lift. Text someone when you're home.
What might help
People you can call
This isn't a medical assessment. It's a way to notice how you're going over time.
How it's been going
Last 14 days
Handovers
This phone isn't letting the page save, so handovers won't be kept.
Privacy & your data
Add a PIN, download what you've entered, or delete everything from this phone.
Giving your time takes something out of you too
What to watch for, and what helps. Tap a heading to open it.
When you see something hard
- Volunteers often see distress, illness, poverty or death, sometimes without training for it.
- Talk to your volunteer coordinator. You should be debriefed too.
- It's normal to feel shaken.
When someone you supported dies
- Grief is real, even if you knew them as a volunteer.
- Ask your coordinator to let you know when people you support become unwell or die.
Saying no and stepping back
- You're giving your time. It's OK to set limits.
- It's OK to take a break, or to stop.
- Burnout is common in volunteers who never say no.
When you feel unvalued or mistreated
- Volunteers deserve respect and a safe environment.
- Raise it with your coordinator, or the organisation's manager.
Your safety
- Volunteer organisations have a duty to keep you safe.
- Report incidents and hazards, just like a worker would.
Bullying, harassment or conflict
You don't have to put up with it, and you don't have to sort it out alone.
- Write down what happened, with dates, while it's fresh.
- If your manager is involved, talk to someone outside your reporting line.
- The Fair Work Commission can make orders to stop bullying at work.
- For sexual harassment, 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is there 24/7.
Signs you're carrying too much
- Dreading your next shift
- Feeling guilty for wanting a break
- Carrying people's stories home
- Trouble sleeping
- Pulling back from people
Volunteers can burn out too. Feeling it is a normal response, not a weakness.
When to get more help
If your load has been heavy for two weeks or more, you dread going in, or it's affecting sleep or home life, talk to your GP or EAP. A GP can set up a Mental Health Treatment Plan for Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist.
People to call
Save the ones that apply to you. They stay on this phone and show up on the Help now screen.
Support lines
Support for volunteers
Sometimes the person you'd normally tell is part of the problem, or it just doesn't feel safe. Here are other ways to get support. You choose what to do, and when.
From your organisation
Your organisation can add its own volunteer support numbers here.
Someone outside your reporting line
- Your volunteer coordinator. You should be debriefed after hard shifts.
- Your organisation's EAP. Many cover volunteers too. Ask.
- The Centre for Volunteering. The NSW peak body for volunteering, 02 9261 3600.
- Your GP. Outside work altogether, and can refer you on.
Text or chat instead of calling
For when talking out loud isn't possible, or feels like too much.
For particular situations
Volunteer organisations have work health and safety duties to volunteers.
Your state's mental health line
Free advice, assessment and referral from your state or territory's public mental health service, 24/7. Choose your state.
Spiritual and religious support
Some people find strength in prayer, ritual or their faith or cultural community after a hard shift. Others find it in nature, music, exercise or quiet. Whatever gives you meaning counts.
If your workplace has a chaplain or wellbeing officer, they support people of any faith or none. Their role is to listen, not to persuade.
Words to start with
The first sentence is often the hardest. You could say:
"I'm not ready to make a complaint. I just need to talk this through."
"Can this stay between us? Is there anything you'd have to pass on?"
"Something I saw while volunteering is still with me."
"I need a break and I feel guilty."
What happens if I tell someone?
- Counsellors, peer supporters and helplines keep what you say private. The main exception is if someone is at serious risk of harm. If you're unsure, ask at the start.
- Your private record in this app stays on your phone unless you choose to share it.
Not ready to tell anyone?
That's OK. You can write down what happened, just for yourself, and decide later.
Numbers and services are for New South Wales and Australia-wide. Check with your organisation for its own services.
Write down what happened
It stays on this phone. It isn't a report, and nothing is sent anywhere. If you later decide to raise something, notes written at the time are easier to rely on than memory.
My entries
Entries can't be edited, so each one shows when it was written. To add something, write a new entry.
No entries yet.
If you decide to share it, you can download it or send it to yourself.
Your phone, your data
PIN lock
Ask for a PIN when the app opens, and after it has been in the background for a minute.
PIN is on.
The PIN stops someone else opening the app on your phone. It doesn't encrypt what's stored, so keep your phone locked too. If you forget it, you can delete everything and start again.
Hide the screen
Tap the eye button at the top of any screen to cover the app straight away, for example at the venue or on the way home. Tap to come back, or enter your PIN if you've set one.
Download my data
Download everything you've entered (handovers, private record and contacts) as a text file. You could keep a copy, or show it to your GP or counsellor.
Delete everything
Deletes your handovers, private record, role, contacts and PIN from this phone.
Delete everything from this phone? This can't be undone.
About Unladen Hands
Unladen™ Hands is an early release made by Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd, Newcastle NSW. Unladen™ is a trade mark of Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd. It isn't a medical or emergency service, and it isn't connected to any organisation or government agency. The questions haven't been clinically validated yet.
What's stored: your role, handovers, private record, saved contacts and settings, only in this phone's browser. Nothing is sent to anyone. There are no accounts, analytics or trackers.
Feedback: the feedback form is the only part of Unladen Hands that sends anything, and only when you press Send. It doesn't include anything else from the app.
Keep in mind: if you clear your browser data or remove the app, what you've entered goes too. Download a copy first if you want to keep it.
Version 0.1 early release · September 2026