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RECONNECT Peer Support Worker : Essex
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Location: Essex
Salary: A GBP 26,000 per annum
Vacancy Type: Permanent
About The Role
We are recruiting for a Reconnect Peer Support Worker in Essex.
We are Forward, the social enterprise that empowers people to break the cycle of crime and addiction to move forward and live fulfilling lives.
RECONNECT is a care after custody service that seeks to improve the continuity of care of people leaving prison or an immigration removal centre (IRC) with an identified health need. We operate a hybrid model of support where we work with individuals up to 12 weeks before their release and up to six months post-release in order to support the transition to community-based services, thereby safeguarding health gains made whilst in prison or an IRC.
Our East of England RECONNECT service is available for adults over the age of 18 with a designated healthcare need and who are due to be released from prison or an IRC in the next 12 weeks. We also accept referrals up to 28 days post-release.
Role Responsibilities
Within this role, you will be responsible for providing a comprehensive, inclusive and bespoke RECONNECT service, including advice and guidance to Forward Trust clients across HMP Chelmsford and the wider community in Essex.
RECONNECT enables service users to access and sustain supportive interventions upon release from prison, whether that be substance use needs, physical health or mental health support, in addition to general well-being advice and guidance. The service will offer mentor link in, sign-posting, GP referrals, aftercare support and a connection to the wider Forward community. Following a referral 12 weeks prior to release, the service will identify the service user's health needs via a robust assessment with a bespoke care plan then created with the client at the centre.
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This is a new position added to the RECONNECT contract to enhance the lived experience element of the service.
This is a hybrid role which involves some remote working from home as well as from various locations such as HMP Chelmsford, Probation Offices and Drug and Alcohol Services. You will be working within an immediate Team 6 across Essex but also with the wider EoE RECONNECT Staff. You will be reporting to your line manager and will also receive ongoing training including organisational and Prison training.
All prison-based roles will require enhanced DBS and HMPPS security vetting. Please note this process can take up to 3-6 weeks. All offers are subject to receiving both HMPPS vetting and DBS clearances.
Checks will require you to provide information on the below:
- Yourself (personal information, financial information, police information, criminal history)
- Your family (parents, parents partners, siblings, partner(s), children)
- Co-residents
- Associations that may cause a conflict of interest with your role or the prison service.
- Background checks across police information systems on you, your family and other associates
- Credit reference checks
- Social media and Open-Source checks (these are checks on content about you that's publicly available on the internet to ensure there's nothing linked to you that could undermine public trust and confidence in the prison service)
- Other government and overseas agency or police checks.
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The Ideal Candidate
This role requires an individual who is caring, compassionate and who is passionate about supporting vulnerable people.
Please also see below a list of skills and experience needed for this role:
- Lived Experience of either the Criminal Justice System, Substance Use and/or Physical or Mental ill Health.
- Experience of carrying out comprehensive assessments and the design and implementation of SMART care plans.
- Experience of delivering structured interventions to service users
- Use of motivational interviewing techniques in both 1:1 and group settings
- Strong IT skills and Admin Skills to supp
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