3 minute read
Creating a Safe Space - Peer Support
- Volunteer Peer Support Facilitator
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Peer Support continued in importance - providing a safe space to get support and be supported by people who understand. Our Peer Support work over the last four or five years has demonstrated the power and strength of lived experience and the ability to make a difference through shared experience and understanding in supporting others. We were therefore really pleased to be able to develop this further and support other peer support groups across Greater Manchester. The Peer Support Hub has created a network of peer support groups across the region to get together, share and learn. We also had the resources through this funding from national Mind to provide small groups with seed funding. The project has connected with groups both large and small, supported other groups to set up and had network meetings and organised network events that have attracted over 70 people with positive feedback. Extending the collaborative influence, Leeds Mind have been our buddy in this work as they had previously received funding through Mind’s Side by Side funding streams. “It’s allowed me a regular space to talk about things that have been going on in my life that contribute to my depression and anxiety or impact my general wellbeing. I normally feel better when leaving the group having been able to verbally express any negative thoughts and feeling, to decompress. I have also found it very motivating and inspiring to hear how others have dealt with some very tough mental health problems… I enjoy helping others to have a safe space to share what is going on for them”
- Volunteer Peer Support Facilitator
Peer Support - a Personal Story
When I first began my volunteering, I remember feeling quite nervous as I wasn’t sure what to expect. I felt quite out of my comfort zone. However, I soon found out that everyone was so welcoming, approachable and friendly. I felt as though I just clicked and I didn’t have to mould myself to fit in, it just happened naturally because I was accepted for who I was. The values of Manchester Mind are really captured into the words and actions of those who work and volunteer there, and so it creates a really comfortable atmosphere.
As a volunteer facilitating the group, it provided me with so many opportunities to become more comfortable being within a group. It allowed me to build my confidence with public-speaking and managing group discussions and dynamics which I didn’t feel were skills for me before. Alongside that, I have developed facilitation and teamwork skills. I would also say that it’s helped me to become better at receiving feedback along with giving feedback to others. Overall, it’s massively helped my communication skills in terms of being able to adapt to who I’m speaking with.
My own lived experience is with social anxiety and depression. For me, the peer support group has been immensely helpful with my mental health. Even if everyone’s experiences are different, the emotions and feelings beneath are probably familiar and can be understood, which is what allows people to connect. I am extremely grateful for what the group has given me - it has allowed me to share and express openly, it has accepted me wholly and unconditionally, and it has given me the space and time to explore what I need and want.
If I could tell anyone about my experience with the peer support groups, it would be that I truly appreciate being able to spend time each week with people who come to the group to share their troubles, their fears, their triumphs and their hopes. It has been something truly special to be a part of creating something which has supported people in their times of need and to watch those same people persevere and move closer to where they want to be. It can be a slow process watching change occur and sometimes it can feel like three steps back, one step forward but it definitely does happen. When people feel able to be themselves without judgement, when there is human connection, when people repeatedly display unwavering belief and faith in you, it’s the ideal environment for change to occur. There is something so humbling seeing people grow and become more of who they are. I am extremely proud of the group and all that it has achieved.
