About Galway Volunteer Centre
Galway Volunteer Centre provides information and advice to people interested in volunteering. We work with 100's of local charities and community groups across Galway city and county to develop volunteer opportunities and we advertise them to the public. We help people to find suitable volunteer roles. We also assist organisations in recruiting and managing volunteers by providing advice and training.
In addition, we provide a Garda Vetting service to groups and source training on running and growing organisations. We run very active social media accounts and have a regular podcast that tells the stories of people making a positive difference to the world around us.
We have the pleasure and privilege of working with people in our communities who provide valuable and critical services from disability supports to tidy towns, and everything in between.
What's Involved
We are looking for peer support volunteers with lived experience of their own mental health difficulties to support people in recovery from mental health difficulties to volunteer as part of their recovery journey. Each peer supporter will be asked to support one person, for up to two hours per week until the person no longer needs support. The day and time will need to be agreed between the organisation, the supporter volunteer and the peer supporter.
Peer supporters will support volunteers recovering from mental health difficulties as a coach and partner.
Peers receive training before they start volunteering and will have opportunities for further education. Peers are supervised when volunteering by the volunteer manager of the organisation with which the person they are supporting is volunteering. They also receive support and supervision on a group basis from staff of Galway Volunteer Centre who act as mentors to the group of peers and are available for consultation between support meetings. Support from mental health professionals will also be available if required.
Tasks Involved
1. Initiate, establish and maintain relationships with volunteers while developing trust and rapport.
2. Act as a coach and mentor and help volunteers to set goals and work toward developing skills.
3. Support volunteers in recovery to voice their needs and their views.
4. Empower and enable people in recovery to take charge of their recovery and their lives.
5. Share and discuss common experiences with volunteers, modelling hope and evidence of recovery.
6. Support a person in recovery to perform effectively in their volunteer role and to develop within the role.
7. Support a person in recovery to negotiate effectively in their volunteer role to ensure that their volunteering experience is as positive and beneficial as possible.
8. Administrative duties, such as sending and receiving email and telephone calls, and completing required documentation.
9. Communicate and work collaboratively with staff and other volunteers of the organisation, attend meetings and meet with supervisors to discuss performance.
What's required for this position
All peer support volunteers must have lived experience of mental health difficulties.
Full training will be provided for this role. In depth training will be provided over a period of ten days, in November and December. It will be delivered in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere and we think participants will find it enjoyable and inspiring.
Before training applicants should have the following skills/attributes:
• ability to give their full attention to another person
• good communication skills
• willingness to collaborate with others.
• good organisation skills
• computer skills would be an asset.
Level of English required for this role:
Fluent English
Minimum time commitment: 6 months
Hours required: 2hrs
Other Details
Location of volunteering opportunity:
This depends on where the supported volunteer is volunteering but peer supporters will be matched with volunteers at a location convenient for the peer supporter.
Screening details for this role:
- Garda Vetting
- Informal Interviews
- References
- Application Form
Volunteers will be provided with the following supports:
- Support/ advice/ recognition
- Supervision
- Initial induction and training
- Insurance cover
- Ongoing training opportunities
Volunteers with the following challenges will be supported in this role
- Physical Disability
- Mental Health Difficulties
Age restrictions:
Over 21
Benefits you will receive as a volunteer
1. Full training in peer support and dealing with the mental health system
2. Satisfaction of knowing that you are supporting someone to recover
3. The opportunity to think effectively about the best ways of protecting your own mental health.
Getting there
Directions will be provided when location is finalised.
