Volunteering with StreetVet

StreetVet is a national charity established to make free veterinary care accessible to pet owners experiencing homelessness. Our teams of volunteer Vets and Vet Nurses (RVNs) provide community vet care at weekly scheduled stations on the streets and in community centres. Regular stations are scheduled on evenings or weekends and generally last 1-2 hours. During which, we aim to provide any service which could normally be delivered on a home visit, working in solidarity with owners who typically manage to provide for their pets admirably well despite their difficult circumstances. By gradually building rapport with vulnerable owners while their pets are healthy we ensure they trust us with their pets’ care when they fall ill.

We have various opportunities available for those who wish to volunteer. If you are not a vet or vet nurse, we also have voluntary support roles available within location teams or our central team. You can find more information about this below.

We have over 1600 patients registered with us and in 2021 ran over 150 outreaches and performed over 1700 consults.

Current locations: Bournemouth, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cornwall, Glasgow, Gloucester, Hertfordshire, London, Norwich, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading, Swansea.

Become a StreetVet Vet or Vet Nurse

StreetVet are privileged to have hundreds of volunteer vet and vet nurse providing free accessible vet care to those experiencing homelessness.

We have StreetVet teams on the ground in 17 locations around the UK. The teams outreach regularly, at a fixed time and place, normally in conjunction with a social care provider such as a soup kitchen, day centre or hostel. We keep the place and time consistent to build a trusted presence in the community, it also allows better engagement with the owners as they know where and when to find us.
Most of our volunteers have full time roles within the veterinary industry and volunteer a few hours in the evenings or/and at weekends. Our teams of volunteer vets and vet nurses work in solidarity with owners who typically provide for their pets admirably well despite their difficult circumstances. Our ethos is to nurture the human animal bond.
During these outreaches we deliver free preventative and reactive veterinary care, procedures including diagnostic tests such as blood tests, dipsticks, FNA’s (fine needle aspiration), flea and worming treatment, education and daily essentials such as food, treats and other pet equipment, we can offer the same care as a standard vet consult. If a patient needs to be referred to veterinary practice for surgery, x-rays, or further investigative procedures we cover the cost of this treatment, and ongoing medication.

We are looking for volunteer vet and vet nurses who are:

  • RCVS registered vets and vet nurses eager to use their professional training to help others
  •  Able to commit a minimum of two hours each month
  • Adaptable and resourceful team players
  • Approachable, non-judgemental, friendly professionals

If you are not a vet or vet nurse, we occasionally have voluntary support roles (non-clinical) available within location teams or our central team.

StreetVet locations*:Bournemouth, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cornwall(X5), Glasgow, Gloucester, Hertfordshire, London(X3), Norwich, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading, Swansea.
*July 2024

Please take a few minutes to watch our short video that gives some more information about volunteering for StreetVet and how a small amount of your time could make a massive difference:

What is StreetVet?

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with StreetVet. Our Volunteer recruitment is currently on hold whilst we update our systems. If you would like to register your expression of interest in becoming a volunteer, please complete this short for here.

Benefits of volunteering with StreetVet

In return you will:

  • Form part of a network of over 400 like-minded Vets and Vet Nurses (RVNs)
  • Be provided with materials, tools and systems of work to meet RCVS and VMD requirements
  • Benefit from unique training opportunities some of which can count towards CPD
  • Experience rewarding opportunities to help dedicated and self-sacrificing pet owners
  • Develop skills and competencies through projects and ongoing tasks

Hear from our volunteers

“StreetVet is the best thing I’ve ever done as a vet and if I was rich I’d do it all the time!”

“My StreetVet work provides me with the most job satisfaction and where I feel my efforts are truly valued”

“Thank you for setting this up and inspiring me and bringing motivation back to my job and my life, so lovely to have something to feel so passionate about”

“Volunteering for StreetVet feels like I’m a piece of a puzzle that fits in perfectly”