Project Info
Project Description
Peer Support Worker
Community Mental Health Transformation
The role is based over various locations and requires travel across Leeds, working over various sites including, as well as home visits and work from home.
The Leeds Survivor Led Crisis Service office is Dial House, 12 Chapel St, Halton, Leeds LS15 7RW. The post is permanent subject to successful probation.
PayScale starts at: LS3.1 – £13.19 per hour – 25 hours a week (£25,447 FTE) – Starting salary £17,194
This project is a partnership with Leeds Mind, Leeds Survivor Led Crisis Service, and Mesmac, with Leeds Mind as the lead partner.
Leeds Survivor-Led Crisis Service (LSLCS) is a mental health charity based in Leeds. We provide out-of-hours support to people in acute mental health crisis with the aim of reducing hospital admissions, A&E visits, and use of statutory crisis services as well as group work. We were founded in 1999 by a group of campaigning mental health service users, who wanted a non-medical, non-diagnostic approach to people in crisis outside of a clinical environment. Our flagship service (Dial House) has been running since 1999. This is a great opportunity to join a highly regarded, multi award winning mental health charity, which provides an alternative, non-medical approach to mental distress and to be a part of the daytime project and team and work in a Peer Support Worker role.
The Project/Programme
The Community Mental Health Transformation programme is a new way of supporting adults and older adults with ongoing and complex mental health needs. This new approach will allow more people to get the support they need, when they need it. It will provide mental health support at a local level, and there will also be help and advice for other issues such as housing, benefits, employment and physical health; all in the same place.
People with ongoing and complex mental health needs are sometimes referred to as people with Severe Mental Illness (SMI). This covers a range of needs and complexities, some of which may coexist with frailty, cognitive impairments, neurodiversity, or substance use.
The Role
The successful candidate will be employed by Leeds Survivor Lead Crisis Service and will be part of a team of Peer Support Workers employed in a partnership project between Leeds Mind, Leeds Survivor Led Crisis Service and Yorkshire MESMAC.
To promote and role model the peer support principles while building safe, trusting relationships with people using services based on non-judgmental listening and shared lived experience.
To use your personal experiences of using mental health services – sometimes called ‘lived experience’ – in your work and to support people to make use of their own strengths and build connections with their peers and wider communities. The post holder will support a range of people from across Leeds, in a non-judgemental, person-centred way, while holding cultural sensitivity at the heart of their approach.
To support individuals using 1:1 peer support sessions in the community, community organisation buildings, other community venues or home visits. The post holder will also be responsible for the running of some groups, courses and workshops. The role will include some evening and weekend work where required.
Essential Skills and Experience:
- Lived experience of emotional distress/ mental health difficulties.
- Experience building connections within the wider community.
- Experience discovering personal strengths and the strengths of others.
- Experience walking with someone in a time of need, professionally or personally.
- Willing and able to share your own personal recovery to help others.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the role and impact of peer support in people’s lives.
- Demonstrate the knowledge, confidence, and skills to work with people with a range of needs.
- Good understanding of the way in which mental health services work locally.
For an informal discussion about the posts, please contact Michaela Shaw, Senior Peer Support worker by email on michaela.shaw@lslcs.org.uk or on 0113 260 9328.
If you wish to apply, please contact recruitment@lslcs.org.uk for an application pack or download here.
- Closing date for applications is Sunday 13th April
- Shortlisted applicants will receive interview invitation on Friday 18th April
- Interviews to be held in person on Wednesday 30th April
