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Become a Linkworker

Croydon's Peer Navigator & Support Project
Hear Us Croydon / Become a Linkworker

Our Linkworking Project’s mission is to improve the quality of Croydon’s mental health services commissioned in Croydon, by lobbying and campaigning on local mental health issues based on feedback from service users raised through our Linkworkers.

Hear Us are looking to people with lived experience to become ‘Linkworkers’.  By visiting services and meeting with service users and the discussion with them, and hearing their issues and concerns; we want to use this as a method of collating information to help improve the users experiences of services and treatments.

 

What’s involved?

Being a Linkworker involves going into local services and offering a listening ear to people using that service.  By listening to people’s experiences, you can get a good picture of what is working well in that service, as well how it could be improved and made better for service users.

Linkworkers play a vital role in supporting people to talk about their mental health journey and their experiences of services.  Because we’ve all had our own experiences of mental health, often service user’s find it easier to give us frank and honest feedback about the service.  For example, we’ve recently heard issues about service users being concerned over benefits and entitlements, suggesting that services need to be more pro-active in signposting people to welfare and benefits support.  As we’re able to feedback these issues to the service managers, the idea is that the service gradually improves for everyone who is using it.

As a Linkworker you will represent the voice of service users that you come into contact with during Linkworking. You will need to be able to:

Attend regular bi-monthly Croydon User Council (CUC) meetings at our offices in South Croydon. Sometimes we will need to hold special sub groups to focus on particular issues or concerns. 

We will invite representatives from commissioner, Croydon CCG and Council, and service providers SLaM (the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust) to hear your views of services.

We are looking to positively affect the recovery mental health service users and shorten their time in inpatients services and help them to navigate services through to an improved mental health and wellbeing.

As a representative from the Croydon’s mental health service user community you will act as the voice for local people accessing services. Although it is important to bring your experience as a service user to these meetings it is vital that you are you are able to represent a range of service user issues.

Key Experiences and abilities of Linkworkers are:

Personal experience of receiving mental health services in Croydon preferably within the past 2 years

Knowledge of Croydon’s Mental Health Services

Ability to listen and understand issues that affect Croydon’s Mental Health Community of Croydon’s Mental Health Community

Be able to represent the views and have the ability to raise issues that affect Croydon’s Mental Health Community to commissioners and service providers

An interest in helping to improve the quality of care, support and culture of Croydon’s Integrated Mental Health Services

Ability to make a positive contribution to discussions and meetings

An ability to convey information back to the council from commissioners and service providers

Hear Us works toward eliminating all forms of discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity for all

If you are interested in acting as a ‘Linkworker’ please contact Claire Hawkes or complete the following application form

Claire Hawkes
Deputy CEO

Hear Us
Orchard House
15a Purley Road
South Croydon
Surrey
CR2 6EZ

Tel: 020 8681 6888

Email: linkworking@hear-us.org
Webpage: www.hear-us.org/peer-support/