Peer Support Pilot Starting with help from National Lottery Community Fund

Notts SVSS are pleased to announce the development of our Peer Support Service.  This new service, which will empower peer-led support, is being funded over a five-year period by the National Lottery Community Fund.

Our first group is being run as an 11-week pilot.  This will involve former service users and staff working together to identify what is needed as they move away from formal support.  For some, this might be practising grounding techniques, trying different activities or courses, learning confidence-building etc.  Others might want to learn work-related skills, including CV writing, interview techniques and so on.

For many, the value will be in being part of a community.  We know that being with others who have a shared experience can be empowering, lessening feelings of shame and isolation.  The aim is for survivors to shape and lead future groups, building confidence and developing skills they might not know they had.  This can be an important step in moving away from therapy and into a community where we can thrive.

In preparation for this pilot group, we have employed Laura, a Peer Support Counsellor.  She will be involved in co-ordinating the groups, planning activities and providing safety and grounding.  A core group of staff will be supporting her with this work, and will be going on training, including Peer Support ‘Train-the-Trainer’ training.

As the service develops, groups will centre around different needs (mixed gender, LGBTQ+, minoritised groups etc) with sessions running both from our base and out in the community.  Our staff will be training peer volunteers to lead groups themselves.  The aim is to run 10 different groups per year.

Hopes for the pilot

Laura, our Peer Support Counsellor, said ‘I’m excited to be involved in this new branch of Notts SVS Services. My hope is that the Peer Support service will prove to be a valuable addition, empowering survivors to support each other to build on their healing and growth as they move forward with their lives.’

‘The pilot course is a great opportunity for survivors to come together with staff to experience mutual support, group activities, and explore how the group can be shaped to meet survivors needs. Ultimately, we’re aiming to create peer-led groups, underpinned by Notts SVSS values, with support from therapeutic and other staff members. This means that survivors can attend the groups for their own personal development and they can train up as a peer support volunteer to take more of a lead if this is something they want to do.

‘Whatever their involvement, all group attendees will have an opportunity to contribute towards group development – through offering ideas and feedback on group activities, designing promotional materials, or simply sharing their experiences, to help the service meet its aims.’

Get Involved

We are really excited about piloting this new service, with the official launch happening later this year.  We are extremely grateful to The National Lottery who, through long-term funding, are showing belief in survivors and in us.

We are very busy behind the scenes setting up for the pilot, but there are lots of ways that you can get involved:

• If you have already left our service, but feel like you could benefit from Peer Support or would like to get involved with the pilot, please phone our Helpline on 0115 941 0440 or fill in our online contact form.
• If you are currently using our service, talk to your support worker about Peer Support
• When you are completing an evaluation of our service, tick the box that says you want to find out more about Peer Support and we will get in touch with you
• Complete our survey, where you can tell us what you think Peer Support should look like.  If you are a current or former service user, you can also ask for more information about Peer Support at the same time!