Making Peer Practical- what Specialist Resource Solutions did next!
You’ve completed the programme, built connections, shared insights, and earned your certificate but what’s next?
Making Peer Practical is a development programme supporting people to plan and implement their peer support ideas. It brings people together from different organisations and services, who take part in a range of sessions and group learning. One-to-one mentoring support and free resources are also provided as a way to kick start participants peer support planning.
But what happens after the last session of the programme? When you’re back at your organisation and keen to put your learning into action?
A collaborative opportunity
Specialist Resource Solutions (SRS) is an organisation providing care packages across the North East of Scotland. Part of their service is to support people with mental health challenges and learning disabilities. SRS reached out to us as they could see a role for lived experience and peer roles to enhance what they currently offer within their complex care services.
It’s a challenge for Support Workers to respond to anything more than the immediate care needs of the people they support. This leaves little time for more in-depth connections and empowering people to be active participants in supporting their own mental health and wellbeing. SRS identified that the addition of Peer Workers provides additional time, space and compassion to work with people to explore what will help them navigate challenging times and live the life they choose. When asked, Support Workers were enthusiastic about how the Peer and Support Worker roles can complement one another.
Being peer ready
Team preparation and cross organisation buy-in is an essential first step when embedding new roles within existing services. It’s a key part of helping teams to understand and feel part of new developments in the support and care they offer. In February we spent some time with SRS’s Head of Operations, Service Manager for Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, two Service Coordinators and three Senior Support Workers in Aberdeen to:
- Further explore peer support and the role it can play to enhance their services
- Share and build on ideas that have been developed through the Service Manager’s involvement in Making Peer Practical
- Identify next steps
SRS are now developing a project framework to help direct their planning over the next 6 months. They are working with the wider organisation to make sure colleagues are on board and ready to welcome this exciting new approach as together they shape what these new roles look like.
Being involved has been a learning experience for me, it means we can offer an additional element of support within the organisation and to people we support.
– Jude Findlay, Mental Health and Learning Disability Manager, Specialist Resource Solutions (SRS)
Further to taking part in Making Peer Practical, SRS are now bringing their plans to life! Ideas are turning into action as they work towards the introduction of Peer Workers. Watch this space for updates on how SRS are getting on and the impact these changes are making!
We’ll also be sharing more examples of ‘What Making Peer Practical participants did next?’ in future newsletters
- Do you have a peer support idea you need development help with? Get in touch
