Volunteer Role: Peer Mentor

Location: 25 Victoria Street, Rochester, ME1 1XJ and other locations in the surrounding community. Unfortunately, this service does not have step-free access.

Do you...

Have lived experience of substance misuse, supported living, or rough sleeping?
Found ways to overcome challenges in your life that you could share with others?
Have experience accessing treatment or support services?
Been free from illicit drug use or problematic alcohol use for the past 3-6 months?

If you’ve said yes to all of the above, there are people going through a similar experience that need your help in their recovery. You will be fully trained and supported by our Peer Outreach Coordinator throughout your time with the project.

About the Role

Our Peer Mentors support clients to engage with treatment services through supporting access to these services in a variety of ways including, through taking people to appointments, sharing of their own experiences, making referrals into drug and alcohol treatment services and proactively encouraging clients to access harm reduction interventions and treatment services.

The clients that you will be working with will either be experiencing rough sleeping or who are at risk of experiencing rough-sleeping.

What is the Commitment?

We are looking for volunteers who can commit to giving 1-5 hours per week for a minimum of 6 months.

Volunteering at our service usually takes place Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm. We are very flexible and happy to work around your availability where we can.

If you would like more information about the role or commitment, please call Samantha Gibbs on 07808 321750 or email samantha.gibbs@socialinterestgroup.org.uk

What You Can Expect From Us

A mandatory training course will be provided which will cover all aspects of Peer Mentoring including covering boundaries, safeguarding, confidentiality and personal safety. This course will be undertaken in partnership with the NHS peer mentor training scheme. Ongoing supervision and support will be provided throughout the whole process by the Pathways Peer Outreach Coordinator.

You can expect that we will:

Work with you to find a volunteering arrangement that works for you and for the service. We will be as flexible as we can!
Reimburse you for agreed expenses relating to your volunteering.
Welcome you warmly into our team and support you to get the most from your experience.
Recognise and celebrate your contribution to the team! We can provide references to confirm your achievements and contributions upon request.
Provide regular supervision and opportunities to provide feedback on your experience.
You will be eligible to register with Blue Light Discount Card.

About Social Interest Group (SIG)

SIG is a not-for-profit organisation providing thousands of people with good-quality support and care in residential, drop-in centres, community floating support settings, probation settings, and hospitals. We do so across London, Brighton, Bedfordshire, Luton, Kent and Liverpool. Our goal is to transform lives through empowering change.

We believe good care and support improves lives with the vision to create healthier, safer, and more inclusive communities. Join us on our mission to empower independence through trauma-informed solutions and dynamic partnerships that keep people out of prison, out of hospital, and off the streets.
Want to know how we work? Watch our short Theory of Change video to see how we support people towards a brighter future: Theory of Change Further details can be found on our website here: Theory of Change - Social Interest Group - Social Interest Group.

Additional Information

This role may close early, for a better chance to be considered, we recommend applying as soon as possible as we screen on an ongoing basis. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds. If you have any questions regarding this, please contact us on the details below. If you need support with making your application, for example, due to learning needs or a disability, please email volunteering@socialinterestgroup.org.uk or call our central office on 020 3668 9270 to request a call back. Please note that this will take you through to our Central Administration team, who will then communicate your enquiry with us and we will arrange to call you back.

For information about our volunteer recruitment processes, please see our website and Volunteer Recruitment Policy.

Apply