Queer Youth Peer Supporters Program

We don’t have a one, single universal definition for a peer supporter or community facilitator.

Peer support can look different and be provided in different ways:

• It can be online through facebook groups, group chats, whatsapp, sub-reddits, discord and other social media platforms. 
• It can be in-person, in a group or one-on-one
• It can be peer lead, or facilitated by someone with professional experience
• It can involve social meet ups, eating together, shared activities, a shared interest or workshop for recreation or skill building. 
• It might be an issue based focus, or for a particular group of people amongst the queer community.
• It can be completely volunteer, organised on a budget of $0 or self funded
• It can have partial funding, through crowdfunding, the group pitching in for certain activities, or self funded projects
• It might be funded through grants, which are auspiced through a not-for-profit organisation, which may or may not be sustainable.

Applications for the Queer Youth Peer Supporters Program are now closed.

Our Queer Youth Peer Supporters Program supports people who meet all the below criteria:

• live in South Australia
• identify as LGBTIQA+
• are of any age
• provide peer support to LGBTIQA+ youth (16-25 yrs old)
• are available for 2 hours per month from July to December 2022 to attend a meeting in person or online.

Applicants can:

• provide peer support as a volunteer or as employed work
• have any level of training and experience in providing peer support
• be from and work with all intersections of our community
• be from regional, rural and metropolitan areas.

During the program peer supporters will:

• Create and build a support network for people who provide peer support to LGBTIQA+ youth.
• Participate in monthly workshops to develop new skills, share their experiences, challenges, hurdles overcome and success stories, face to face and online.
• Connect through a digital space for peer supporters to provide each other support or advice.
• Build resources on best practice LGBTIQA+ youth peer support.

Peer supporters will participate in monthly workshops that platform to come together, talk about the challenges they face, what makes a successful peer supporter, highlighting best practices and enhance skills that encourage a healthy and sustainable practice.

The program will be designed in collaboration with the peer supporters with the goal of encouraging participants to share their skills, knowledge and experience on a range of topics including:

• Better understanding our roles as peer supporters & knowing our scope
• Facilitation, useful tools and conflict resolution
• Resilience, creating healthy boundaries and self care
• Allyship to create more inclusive spaces for disabled folk, First Nations peoples, and people of colour
• Governance structures and managing risks 
• Accessing Mental Health First Aid training  
• Responding to disclosures of family and domestic violence & sexual violence
• Providing referrals and understanding what support services are available
• Providing advocacy and theories of change
• Engaging with the Media 101
• Fundraising and managing finances.

Through this program SARAA will provide:

• A safe inclusive space physically and/or virtually, to develop your skills and build a network of support around LGBTIQA+ youth support. 
• Monthly workshops in person or online with other peer support people. 
• Guest speakers with skills and expertised in a range of areas relevant to peer support.
• Accredited training for peer supporters of volunteer run not for profit groups in Mental Health First Aid and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST).
• Honorarium reimbursement for volunteer peer supporters for time spent during monthly workshops and regional travel. 

Workshop meetings will be held monthly between August and December 2022 with some additional formal training packages offered to volunteer support people.