Lived Experience Forum

[Former-Member]

Yeah @TAB gotta prepare for everything I guess thanks for your input I know the world is not prefect and I've tried to be perfect in my way, but just throwing it out there to see what people here thought and yeah let's hope and see... I haven't signed up yet, but want an entry level position to see if it's a career I can handle. This comes after 10 years of work so I'm hopeful still 

itsjustme1

[Former-Member]

@MDT have you worked in mental health?

itsjustme1

[TideisTurning]

Hey @Former-Member, great question! My understanding of any 'peer work' position, in the mental health arena anyhow is most simply that peer workers work from a lived experience basis. There's an inherent mutuality where peer workers can use their lived experience in some way through their work and their lived experience is part of what qualifies them to do what they do. Thank you @TAB for flagging this for us! 😊

I'm also going to tag my fellow Peer Workers in case any of them have any other insights or wisdom to add @cloudcore @Former-Member @Former-Member @Former-Member 

Hope that helps! 

TideisTurning 💐

[TAB]

sorry for butting in, but I raised it so, AFAIK @MDT  was just hinking about working in something to do with MH 

ask people in real life perhaps @Former-Member  ?

[TAB]

@Former-Member  there ya go ! 

[Former-Member]

Thanks for tagging me in @TideisTurning 

This is such a great subject @Former-Member @MDT @TAB 

It's a great point that dipping your toes in to find out if mental health work is for you is a great way to do things. I did this by volunteering across a variety of roles. It's probably difficult with Covid right now but. I got my start in a a couple of programs where you volunteer to be paired up with an elderly person or disabled person in care and visit them and provide companionship. That showed me that I loved being there for people.

From there I started volunteering at some advocacy organisations telling my story (SANE was one of them!). This showed me I liked using my story to help others make sense of their own paths. Organsiations also usually reimburse you which can make it a nice little side hustle while you figure things out.

I then found a way to combine my degree and my lived experience by doing Lived Experience Research and Facilitation. So I would often run and analyse interviews and focus groups about mental health topics. And this evenutally lead me to where I am today as a Peer Support Worker. 

Volunteering is really good option to dip your toes in because  for me it allowed me to build skills and confidence that this is the kind of work I want to be doing and if something doesn't work for you it's a lot easier to leave as there is usually not a contract for example.

All in all it's been a path of about 5 years of trying all of these things out to get to where I am today as a Peer Worker. You could probably go quicker if you liked but I am happy I paced it the way I did as it allowed me to really figure out what I was passionate about.

Hope this rambling helps! 
- periwinklepixie

[TAB]

Very Good @Former-Member  thanks 

[Former-Member]

Hey @Former-Member it sure does help, @TAB will ask people irl too that would help.

it's something I have a passion for, recently found - but am looking into my options atm and hope your words of hope, courage and resilience can drive me to get there too. Sounds like something worthwhile to do.

thanks everyone 

itsjustme1

[TAB]

run it past the job agency perhaps @Former-Member  or see if you can do volunteering somewhere guess

[Former-Member]

I guess only one way to find out @TAB 

itsjustme1