Lived Experience Support Worker

As an integral and highly valued team member, the Peer Support Worker will provide peer support and practical assistance to service users to support them in regaining control over their lives and their own unique recovery journey.

Through sharing the wisdom of their own lived experience of recovery, the Peer Support Worker will inspire hope and belief that recovery is possible in others. Within a relationship of mutuality, they facilitate and support information sharing to promote choice, self-determination and opportunities for the fulfilment of socially valued roles and connection to local communities.

All staff should comply with the Trust's Anti-Discriminatory Statement, Employee Charter, Trust Policies and Procedures, Code of Conduct and Equality and Diversity.

Main duties of the job

To support people who are experiencing mental health challenges to:

Maintain and develop their independence.

Build life skills, confidence, resilience and self-esteem.

Build social networks and reduce isolation.

Engage in peer support sessions and offer holistic support, advice, information, and if necessary, onward referral to other support.

Find opportunities for them to direct their own recovery through self-management and choice.

Access to services and support.

Encourage positive choice-making.

Work with the service user and, where appropriate, their carers/another meaningful person in developing their own personalised care plan., You will use your personal recovery with individuals using the service in 1:1 or group support. You will

• Model and mentor recovery and demonstrate coping skills.


• Embed a person-centred and recovery-orientated approach in all aspects of the work.



• Inspire hope and share life experiences and lessons learnt.


• Be trauma-informed


• To contribute to peer support activities, including 1:1 and groups;


• To ensure that the safety and wellbeing of each person using the service is monitored and reviewed regularly.


• To contribute to the assessment, planning, implementation, and review of support.


• To report any untoward incidents or unusual occurrences to the line manager.


• To report any safeguarding concerns to the line manager.


• To attend the appropriate team meetings


• To attend both managerial and lived experience supervision.


• To attend reflective/consultation with team members.
  
  Good educational qualifications up to GCSE standard or equivalent


• Educated to NVQ Level 4 or Equivalent Qualification, Own personal lived experience of recovery from mental health challenges


• Paid or unpaid peer support worker experience


• Willing to positively share your own life experiences, and personal experience of mental ill health challenges with people and carers using the service, Developed personal plans for managing own recovery


• An ability to be non-judgemental


• Ability to support someone in their recovery and not to 'rescue'


• Sensitive understanding of diversity issues and an ability to promote anti-discriminatory practice/ equal opportunities


• Ability to demonstrate empathy, compassion and patience


• Able to tell your story succinctly and in a meaningful way.
  
  Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an exceptional organisation with big ambitions, our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.


With a workforce of around 3,500 people and an annual income of some £330million this year, the Trust provides integrated health and social care services through a network of community and inpatient settings, serving diverse communities across Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Norfolk. As a university NHS foundation trust, HPFT continues to develop strong links with the University of Hertfordshire, providing excellent learning and development opportunities, as well as strengthening our clinical research capability.

Whilst it is a challenging period for the NHS, there has never been a more exciting time to join HPFT following our CQC rating of Outstanding awarded to us in April 2019., Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is rated by the Care Quality Commission as an Outstanding provider of mental health and learning disability services. In 2021, we won the prestigious Health Service Journal award for Mental Health Trust of the Year, with the judges saying they were "blown away" by our people's achievements and that everything they saw "sings and hums". This year, our staff rated us the 4^th best mental health and learning disability trust to work for out of all 52 trusts in the country. Our staff tell us that they are proud to be part of the HPFT team, proud of the standard of care we provide and proud that service users are our top priority. Our people tell us they feel supported though a great development, wellbeing and work-life balance offer and a highly compassionate, values-driven culture. We are equally proud of our staff, who live our values of being welcoming, kind, positive, respectful and professional