PLEASE NOTE: Our opportunities are for a minimum of a 6-month commitment, 1 hour minimum per week. We also require volunteers to have lived experience of mental health issues or having known and helped someone with theirs, as sharing our experiences is a key aspect of this role.
Our Peer Support Volunteers provide one-to-one support to clients all around Leeds who are currently undergoing or waiting for treatment with the LMWS.
You will provide one-to-one support either in person out in the community or via phone, empowering clients to shape their own recovery journey and providing a flexible approach dependant on the client’s requests.
Due to our small team we only have the capacity for 30 active volunteers at a time, and this can limit the number of our training opportunities and potentially slow the process of starting up volunteer placements.
What do Peer Support Volunteers do?
- Engage with “matched” service users in person or over the phone.
- Share your lived experience to make the client feel less isolated.
- Help with any homework they may have from their therapies.
- Empower them to engage in local groups or activities.
- Be a good listener and signpost to other services where appropriate.
- Develop the role and make it your own depending on your and the client’s needs.
What are your responsibilities:
- Attend Peer Support training where you will learn skills to help you in your role and in your personal life.
- Engage with the new network of peer supporters and staff members within the LMWS.
- Being punctual to your appointments with the service user and taking them out into the community to engage with groups as agreed with the client.
- Use active listening skills to develop a professional relationship with the service user.
- Attend regular supervisions to discuss your progress and to address any support needs you may have.
Skills required: INTERPERSONAL SKILLS, LIVED EXPERIENCE, EXCELLENT TIMEKEEPING, ACTIVE LISTENING, PROBLEM SOLVING, COMMUNICATION SKILLS, DECISION MAKING, POSITIVE ATTITUDE.
