ROLE PROFILE

Role Title: Peer Mentor

Location: Croydon

About Thames Reach

Thames Reach is a charity based in London, specialising in helping people with complex and multiple needs, including those associated with poor mental health and substance misuse. We manage a range of services, including street outreach, frontline hostels, day services, specialist supported housing and employment and skills schemes. Last year we helped more than 10,000 people.

Purpose of the role

Croydon Housing First helps people with a history of sleeping rough to settle into their own accommodation, offering immediate, specialist support to make sure people don’t return to the streets, and instead move effectively towards recovery and independent living.

The project provides 20 people with their own flat, all supported by a Thames Reach key worker who helps the tenant to access the right services to meet their needs, be it related to health, skills, benefits or employment.

Thames Reach staff also help tenants to source furniture, organise bills, and create a home environment in which they feel secure and comfortable.

What you will be doing

In this role, you will be supporting us with the following tasks:

• To provide information, support and encouragement to a mentee, leading and guiding by example in a one-to-one or group environment
• Adopt a person-centered holistic approach to enable your mentee to express their needs and aspirations and support them formulate a suitable action plan to enable them to achieve those
• Develop and maintain an up to date knowledge of local services to enable you to advise and signpost mentees
• Assist the mentee in their educational and employment aspirations and acquiring new skills
• Update mentee records including new action agreed and achievements
• Provide some feedback on your observations on progresses made (provide affirmation) and areas they may need to develop further to their achieve goals.
• Review and celebrate all achievements throughout relationship

When would you be needed and where would you be based

We expect volunteers to commit for at least six months with the requirement of 1-2 days a week. Once we have received your application, we will meet with you informally and give you more information on the location and time you will need to commit to the role.

What you can gain from this volunteering role

• Be able to use your skills, knowledge, and life experience to benefit others
• Experience, training, and skills that you can highlight on your CV and in job interviews
• Professional references after 3 months volunteering
• Mentoring and support from our Employment and Skills team
• Better physical and mental health – studies show that volunteers live longer and experience lower levels of stress and depression.

Training and support offered

• A role specific induction so that you understand the role well
• Regular support and supervision from the team to discuss how your volunteering is going and what other opportunities and training may be available to you
• Online or face-to-face instructor led training and e-learning modules to prepare you for your voluntary role
• Access to a range of additional e-learning courses as well as local opportunities for your personal and professional development
• Support from staff and peer support from fellow volunteers
• Reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses.

What we are looking for

• Good interpersonal skills, enthusiasm, and motivation
• Ability to listen and be empathetic to build rapport with clients
• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Willingness to learn and develop within the role
• Motivation to support disadvantaged and vulnerable people
• The physical ability to work on the streets (there can be a lot of walking involved)
• Awareness and understanding of the need for professional boundaries and confidentiality
• To have the ability to follow Health and Safety regulations, Equal Opportunities and Diversity policy.
• We specifically need people with lived experience of homelessness.

Minimum age: 18

Safer recruitment

Thames Reach undertakes a systematic approach and utmost care at every step of the process of volunteer recruitment, selection, and retention to ensure that those recruited are suitable and appropriate. We take measures to make volunteering at Thames Reach a positive and safe experience.

Are references required: Yes. We will ask for two references, this can be former employers or people that know you well (other than relatives).

Is there criminal record check required: Yes

How can I apply? Complete our online application form or contact us at volunteer@thamesreach.org.uk.

Apply today

The Thames Reach traineeship programme provides career pathways into the homeless sector. It offers participants the opportunity to gain the skills and experience needed to work for Thames Reach and within the broader sector. The traineeship programme actively encourages those with a previous history of homelessness to apply, as well as people with little or no experience of the homeless sector. Passion, commitment and empathy towards homeless people along with good administration skills are required to succeed. The programme has seen students and tutors alike incredibly pleased with the experience and future prospects.

Ross Lambert is one of the graduates, who got a job as an assistant support worker at Croydon Reach after undertaking his first placement, and has since worked with three different Thames Reach outreach teams. We spoke to him when he graduated in April 2019.

What’s your background and what attracted you to the programme?
I actually had a very different career before starting the traineeship; I was a glass designer for ten years, and although I really enjoyed it, I wanted to do something that helped people. After a short career break, I thought about how I might be able to do this and did some research. Spending some time travelling confirmed that I wanted to do a job that made a difference in the community. I knew little about what support workers did but knew that it was a step in the right direction for me.

What did you do during your time on the traineeship?
The work we did while training was really close to what we’d be doing as assistant support workers once we finish, so it was good to learn first-hand from the start. I shadowed the Croydon Reach outreach team and followed their work with other agencies.

What did you enjoy the most?
The fact that I can see tangible results from my day-to-day work, and that’s something I’ll continue to enjoy as I settle in my new role and progress throughout my career.

Who have you worked with so far?
I had no experience working with vulnerable people before now but working with service users has been a real highlight, it truly feels like a two-way street, we’re inspiring each other and working collaboratively.

What are your plans for the future?
I got the job at Croydon Reach the same day as my second placement was due to start, so I’m still very new and enjoying learning everything I can about the role. I’m happy to have the experience and use the skills I learned in the traineeship for real-life situations.

Jamie Shovlin, Support Worker, Rapid Response 

“I normally start around 6pm with shift planning, which I do from home. This involves looking at new referrals that we’ve received through Streetlink for the areas of the city I’ll be covering that night. I’ll also check the previous night’s shift to see if there are any follow-up actions from that need to be factored into the shift. I’ll put the referrals into a plan on Google Maps and move them about to find a route that gets to as many people as possible on shift. Around 7:30/8pm, I’ll pick up my volunteer and head out, using a Zipcar located close to home.

The most satisfying thing is ending people’s homelessness there and then on the night, on the street. In truth it may be ultimately very short-term as the challenges of keeping people from returning to the streets are many, but the immediate relief and people’s reactions to it are very satisfying. I also enjoy working with skilled, diligent and sensitive colleagues and volunteers, who give their time and energy to ending street homelessness. 

Perhaps the biggest challenge is engaging people who’ve been out on the streets for a long time. They may be sceptical about what you can offer, may have had bad experiences in the past with services, may be struggling with substance abuse and health issues. It’s difficult to build a bigger picture of the type of care and approach that might benefit the individual if they won’t engage with you on any level. But we try and work out the best way to offer that person support.

The work is fundamentally very independent in practice but only works in substance as part of a larger team. We put out a number of shifts each night across London and are in constant communication with each other whilst on shift. If one of us is in a difficult situation, there are a number of colleagues who can help. We often work directly with each other and talk over situations and exchanges that were challenging. Each worker has a different approach and will have different advice and support regarding each situation.

It starts with the planning, the layout and idea of the shift. After a while you get to know areas and are able to guess where and when people are most likely to be found. Then there’s searching for people and if finding them, working out the best form of support. Ideally we can take them to an emergency shelter but sometimes this isn’t possible, so we have to offer alternative support and reassurances that we are trying to help them away from the streets. I think trust is one of the biggest aspects of this work – the person you’re speaking with has to believe you have their best interests at heart. You have to clear and honest with people even if means delivering news they don’t want to hear. Then there’s the reporting of each shift and encounter which should be clear and concise, so that colleagues can see what work you have carried out and know what the next step of action is.

The scale and dedication of the outreach services makes Thames Reach unique. We’re covering such a large area with such a dedicated workforce. Colleagues are from a broad range of backgrounds, and that influences their connection to the work and how they do it. This contributes to the service’s dynamic and robustness and makes the challenging tasks at hand that much more achievable.”

Thames Reach are expanding and have roles available across London at a range of levels. Experience is not necessarily required as full training and support is provided. There are opportunities to work flexibly or part-time around other commitments, which allows a range of people with different experiences to work together to end street homelessness.