The PSL Team are delighted to announce an opportunity for volunteers to participate in an upcoming three week training programme to be trained as Peer Co-Facilitators. This programme will go through a series of face to face training sessions aimed to give successful applicants the skills and information they need to succeed as volunteer Peer Support Co-Facilitators within the team at LCiL.
What is peer support?
Peer support is a way of giving and receiving help (knowledge, emotional assistance or practical help) by understanding others’ situations through shared personal experience.
It’s different from other types of support because the source of support is a person with similar relevant experience.
Peer support is built on respect, empathy, shared responsibility and mutual benefit.
Purpose of the role
The purpose of a co-facilitator is to work alongside the facilitator to support the group in aspects such as:
- Setting up the room before the session
- Helping make sure all materials and resources are available
- Welcoming people and creating a safe space
- Managing time and ensuring people have time to speak if they wish
- Sharing relevant lived experience appropriately
always with the aim of helping people to become more confident, skilled, knowledgeable and resilient.
The Training Programme
These sessions will provide a grounding in the principles of facilitation and the approach used by LCiL, including:
- LCiL and its services
- the social model of disability
- stages of empowerment
- peer support in general
- practicalities of this role and how you’ll be supported
- practicing skills, for example:
- active and constructive listening
- how to manage boundaries
- managing emotions – yours and other people’s
- managing endings
- support and supervision conversations
Questions and Answers
Below are some of the most common questions regarding this Peer Facilitator role. Please see the Role Description below for the full Q&A
What does this volunteer role involve?
You will be volunteering alongside one of LCiL’s group facilitators to support the group through from preparing the room, hosting the session and tidying up afterwards. Your role will include meeting people as they arrive and helping them to feel welcome, contributing the group by sharing appropriate lived experience, helping with offering lunch to participants and clearing up after the group has ended. You may be asked to take the lead on parts of the group, such as reminding people about group guidelines but only when you feel comfortable with this and any role within the group would be planned alongside the lead facilitator.
What sort of skills and interests do I need?
You need to like people and be interested in them. You should be respectful and non-judgmental and have a strong belief that everyone has strengths and can grow and develop. The key skills are good listening, having empathy and having the ability to manage your own feelings whilst being comfortable with other people expressing theirs. You will need to have a reasonable level of these skills to start with, and we’ll build on them during initial training.
What support will I get in this role?
You’ll get training before you start meeting people and you’ll volunteer within a clear set of guidelines and procedures. Before each group you’ll have an opportunity to speak with the lead facilitator to prepare and afterwards to debrief and review how it went. There will also group support and supervision sessions where you’ll be able to continue to increase your skills and get support with anything you may be finding challenging.
How to Apply
To apply for this volunteer position with LCiL, please click to download the application form and role description below.
We are currently not taking applications for peer facilitators. This page will be updated as soon as we begin the recruitment process once again with the new submission deadline.
If you have any questions or need support when filling out the application form, please get in touch with us at SDS@lothiancil.org.uk and we’ll do our best to help!