Peer support can be a hugely effective intervention for people going through complicated life circumstances. Being able to receive empathetic support from people who have been through similar situations can reduce feelings of isolation and not being understood. It can also help people improve their knowledge, confidence, and ability to take control of their situation by learning from the experiences of others who have overcome, or who may still be struggling with, the obstacles and barriers they are facing.

We at The Peer Partnership are working to spread the adoption of peer support by designing, developing, and implementing peer support programmes and supporting other organisations to do the same.

This workshop is designed to support health organisations and voluntary, community, and social enterprises (VCSEs) to consider, plan, and troubleshoot the introduction of peer support programmes into their services.

Our workshop includes:

• What peer support is – Covering definitions of peer support, different forms of peer support, qualities of peer volunteers, and limitations of peer services.
• Organisational considerations – Covering coordination, recruitment, promotion, development, and evaluation of peer services.
• Action planning – Writing an initial action plan for how you are going to proceed including: purpose of service, model of support, and inputs and outputs.
• Risk assessments and contingencies.

Aims and Objectives

• An understanding of peer support and the different forms it can take.

• An understanding of what skills and knowledge peer workers require to undertake the role.

• An understanding of the consideration and risks of implementing peer support.

• An understanding of the stages of developing a peer support programme.

Who is it for?

This workshop is for voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations across the UK. Participants will not require any prior knowledge of peer support to participate. There will be a maximum of 15 participants per workshop.