Peer support - offer your support to those caring for others in suicidal crisis

Roses in the Ocean is seeking individuals with a lived experience of suicide to volunteer with our Peer CARE Companion in Community model in the Gladstone and surrounds community. One part of lived experience is caring for a loved one who may live with thoughts of suicide or have experienced suicidal crisis. Perhaps you pop in and spend time with a friend, care for your partner or supported your child with seeking help when they needed it. If you have a lived experience caring for others in this way, your support for others could make a big difference. Peer CARE Companion in Community is a face-to-face, community-based suicide prevention service. It provides a safe place for people to connect with our Peer CARE Companions who share a similar lived experience.

A lived experience of suicide is:

• having experienced suicidal thoughts
• survived a suicide attempt
• supported and cared for a loved one through suicidal crisis
• been bereaved by suicide

Peer CARE Companions meet people ‘where they are at’ locally and in community. Support may vary from meeting in community setting, having a coffee with someone, supporting them to navigate additional supports, going for a walk or connecting for a chat on the phone. You will have flexibility and be able to update availability to best suit your lifestyle as needed. The Regional Coordinator supports volunteers as needed when connections are allocated.

Peer CARE Companions are:

• comfortable talking about suicide
• comfortable sitting with another person's lived experience and their feelings and emotions
• able to listen deeply and let people talk about their experiences

The following training is provided:

• TouchPoints Workshop (4.5 hours)
• Self-paced online modules (4 to 6 hours)
• Peer CARE Companion Workshop (6.5 hours)
• Service Induction and mentoring calls (2 to 4 hours)

Once your onboarding is complete, you may offer support once or twice a month for around an hour.

To register your interest in becoming a volunteer, please apply below. We will then send you a link to create your Volunteer Profile in Volaby and book yourself in for a Readiness Call with a team member from Roses in the Ocean. For more information, reach out to [email protected] and our Regional Coordinator will be in touch.
**We value the consideration you have given this position and want you to know that a Regional Coordinator, who lives in the Gladstone area, is available to support you with onboarding and volunteering. **