The Murrumbidgee Peer Work Placement Program helps people with lived experience of mental health, drug or alcohol challenges to start their career in Peer Work.

The Program supports people to gain work experience as a Peer Worker. Students can ‘try out’ working in a range of mental health, drug and alcohol services across the Murrumbidgee region.

Anyone studying Mental Health Peer Work, or who has done Peer Work training in Alcohol and Other Drugs, can apply to be part of the program.

Peer workers are people who have lived through their own challenges and recovery, which might be mental health issues, suicide or substance use (like drugs or alcohol).

Peer Workers are part of the health care system. Many mental health, suicide prevention and drug and alcohol support services will have Peer Workers as part of their teams.

As well as having a lived experience, Peer Workers are trained to have respectful, safe conversations and offer practical support. Their job is not only to help, but also to give hope by showing that feeling better and living a full life is possible for everyone.

Peer workers bring care and understanding, helping people feel heard by someone who truly gets what they’re going through.

Being part of the Peer Work Placement Program will give you real-world experience as a Peer Worker. By working in different services, you will get a taste of the varied roles that Peer Workers can have and help you apply the skills you have learnt during your Peer Work training. This may help you decide where you would like to begin your career in Peer Work or give you great experience to draw on when applying for jobs.

To be part of the Peer Work Placement Program, you must:

• Live in the Murrumbidgee region
  
• Be aged 16 or over
• Not be currently working as a Peer Worker
• Able to take part in an unpaid work placement for a total of 80 hours
• Have a lived/living experience of mental health, drug or alcohol challenges
• Be enrolled in, or willing to complete, formal training/study in Peer Work.

There are three different Placement Streams in the program. You can choose the area which feels right to you and matches your identity and career goals.

Participants in each Stream will do 80 hours of work experience across four different services (20 hours in each).

Once you have applied, we will check you meet the eligibility criteria for taking part in the program. You will then be offered a time to have a conversation about the Placement Program to ask any questions, give you more information and talk about what you need to take part.

Following this conversation, if you would like to go ahead, you may be offered a time to meet with someone from our program team. The pre-placement discussion will focus on your commitment to the program, your readiness to take part and any supports you may need.

We understand that applying for placements can be stressful and will offer you some choices around how the application conversations take place to help you feel more comfortable.

You will be working directly with people accessing mental health, drug or alcohol services. Anyone working in this setting, including participants in the Placement Program must have:

• Australian National Police Check (see Frequently Asked Questions for more information on criminal records)
• Working with Children’s Check
• Proof of current vaccination status for identified infectious diseases (see Frequently Asked Questions for more information on vaccinations)

You will be asked for these details during the application process.

We want all participants to feel supported and get the most out of the Placement Program.

Participants will have:

• The support of a Peer Mentor during the Placement Program
• On-site supervisor at each placement organisation
• An experienced Peer Worker to shadow and learn from
• Group co-reflection sessions with other Peer Placement Program participants
• Placement Coordinator for any questions or concerns during Placement
• Access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) during placement