Peer Worker

**About us**:
We’re leaders in mental health service delivery, specialising in working with adults and young people, and in early childhood intervention.

Stride is a name that expresses our ambition - it’s a name that’s purposeful and shows awareness of the important role we play in the recovery journey.

As we embark on the next stage of our journey, join us to make a difference. We're here to Stride.

**About the service**:
As a genuine alternative to presenting to the Emergency Department, Safe Haven provides a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for people experiencing emotional/suicidal distress, allowing to:

- Receive immediate, person centred and compassionate care.
- Identify alternatives to presenting to the Emergency Department
- Access support from Suicide Prevention Peer Workers within their community, outside a clinical setting.

**On Offer**:

- Based in Wollongong, NSW
- Casual opportunity available
- Evening work hours, 1:30pm - 10pm Wednesday through to Saturday
- Paying on SCHADs Level 3 plus Super
- May be eligible for salary packaging options (up to $15,899 tax free)
- Stride Rewards - access to discounts from 100s of retailers (fashion, food and fitness)
- Excellent training & career development

**Role overview**:

- Sit with guests in distress and discomfort, taking a collaborative approach to supporting people to identify and connect with support they need and want.
- Utilise your peer support skills including purposeful storytelling to connect with guests and promote hope and recovery.
- Use personal lived experience of suicidal crisis recovery to connect with guests and provide support of evidence-based strategies underpinned by recovery orientated principles to provide assistance to individuals experiencing a suicidal crisis.
- Serve as a positive role model to guests natural supports (family members and friends), staff, and community.
- Build independence in developing and engaging in skills to build distress tolerance and support an individual’s capacity to alleviate and manage future psychosocial distress and suicidal crisis.
- Carryout brief interventions including psychosocial support, safety planning, recovery/wellness planning, sensory modulation techniques and advocacy.
- Work collaboratively with key stakeholders and services like ambulance and local mental health teams

**Requirements**:

- Hold or be willing to work towards a Cert IV in Mental Health Peer Work (including elective CHCCCS003 Increase the safety of individuals at risk of suicide), plus willingness to undertake other training (Intentional Peer Support (IPS) Core Training, Roses in the Ocean training programs, Safe Side training, etc)
- Personal lived experience of suicidality and recovery and proactivity in managing wellbeing
- Ability to think and act calmly and deal sensitively with distressed people
- Demonstrate effective listening, communication skills, empathy; and the capacity to relate to others with dignity and respect.
- Must be available for an out of hours service of later afternoons to evenings plus weekends and public holidays.
- Experience skills and knowledge in engaging with and supporting people in distress and experiencing a suicidal crisis.
- Ability to implement and facilitate capacity building activities with guests
- Ability to demonstrate initiative and work independently
- Excellent communication, interpersonal, problem solving and organisational skills
- Networking skills to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders
- Current driver's licence
- Must be eligible to apply/currently hold a WWCC

Vaccination against COVID-19 is a requirement for all positions and is in accordance with Stride policy. As part of the recruitment process Stride requests evidence of vaccination status (in accordance with privacy principles) to ensure compliance with this policy requirement.

This includes but is not limited to people with a lived-experience of mental health recovery, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, LGBTQIA+, and people with disabilities.