Peer Mentor Activities Volunteer

Do you want to work for an organisation that makes a difference?  Waythrough are about giving people fair chances to succeed in life.

Who are Waythrough....
Waythrough launched in October 2024 following the merger of Humankind and Richmond Fellowship. Our vision is to break down the barriers that stop people getting the support they need to live a life they value. We tackle poverty and disadvantage in communities, through mental health, drug and alcohol, housing and related support. 

We have almost 200 services around England – and nearly 3,500 amazing staff and volunteers who run them. Every year our services support around 125,000 people.

The role: This integral role within Together is aimed at individuals who have come through the service, are stable in their recovery and keen to offer peer support to others, while having the chance to develop themselves.

Together is an established drugs and alcohol recovery service to support people across Devon who are facing difficulty with their substance use. Alongside key work sessions much support is offered in group settings; the aim of these groups is to build networks of support and build upon recovery and the skills and resilience to sustain it. Examples of activities a volunteer could support are: Flourish In Nature and yoga activities; arts and crafts; recovery café.

Over time, for those Peer Mentors who are keen to gain more of an insight into the service and into working in the field of substance misuse services, a skills framework is available to support individuals to practice relevant skills.

Tasks may include:        

• Co-facilitating a group session, for example, Yoga activity
• Generally speaking, positively about recovery with service users and supporting them
• Signposting to other activity / support the service and partners and attend events representing the service.
• Liaising with staff and service users to gain feedback about the service which helps inform decisions and support.
• Adhering to policies related to areas such as safeguarding, information governance and health and safety – full training to be delivered by the Volunteering Team ahead of start date.

Skills we would like you to bring to the role:

• Confident IT skills – aside from any IT skills required for the role, some of our mandatory training is done online through eLearning modules
• Professional, honest and committed
• Non-judgmental towards people with lived experience
• Good time keeping
• Able to work as part of a team, on own initiative and to instruction
• An understanding of Waythrough – information is available on our website, and you can call a specific project to make enquiries.
• A genuine interest in being part of the mission, vision and promise of Waythrough

Ability to maintain professional boundaries, adhere to Waythrough policies and media guidelines, engage in supervision, and complete relevant training

What Volunteers can expect from us:

Volunteering with Waythrough offers people a unique chance to have a significant positive impact on people’s lives. We work both with and within diverse communities across the country and every day we see people making positive changes to turn their lives around. We also offer:

• Regular supervision and support
• Induction and access to online and face to face training
• The opportunity to learn and practice new skills
• The opportunity to be part of a team and the wider Waythrough organisation
• Reasonable travel expenses reimbursed with proof of journey

• Opportunities to progress and experience other areas of Waythrough's work

Our values:

Our values underpin everything we do – from how we work together through to how we design and deliver services. All our work to fulfil this vision is strengthened by our values.

• Kindness - be generous, caring and understanding.
• Courage - be bold, trust, commit.
• Respect - everyone deserves dignity.

Waythrough is an equal opportunities employer...
We value unique perspectives and experiences that everyone can bring, and fully understand the strength in diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, regardless of race, gender, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or disability. If you have a genuine passion for working for us, we want to hear for you. We also welcome applications from people with lived experience with substance use. If you require support with your application, please contact the Recruitment Team at people.recruitment@waythrough.org.uk