Become a Peer Support/Parent Peer Volunteer

I am so grateful to be able to provide a support to someone when they need it most. I wish I had had someone to chat with when I was first diagnosed and so now I can be that person to someone else

People get so much comfort just speaking to someone who completely understands. It’s a privilege to be able to do it

About the Peer / Parent Peer Support Service

Being diagnosed with cancer can be one of the most difficult situations a person will have to face in their lifetime. The Peer Support programme is for people who have had a diagnosis of cancer who would like to speak to others who have had the same diagnosis.

Through this programme, people can speak to a trained volunteer who really knows what they are going through as cancer patient. Because our volunteers have also had cancer, they too know what it’s like to live with the treatments and side effects of cancer and the emotional and practical issues that one may face as a cancer patient.

Peer Support gives people with cancer the opportunity to have a listening ear from someone who really understands in a time when they need it most. All of our Peer Support volunteers have had a cancer diagnosis. The volunteers have been carefully selected and trained to provide free, confidential telephone support, practical information and reassurance.

Parent Peer Support connects someone with a child undergoing cancer treatment with a volunteer who had a similar cancer experience with their own child. Parent Peer Support Volunteers offer support to other parents of children with cancer. All of our Parent Volunteers have children who have been treated for cancer in the past. This service is also available to other adult family members, such as grandparents, uncles, aunts. Each support session typically lasts 40 minutes.

What’s involved in volunteering as a Peer /Parent Peer?

As the peer support programme is telephone based, the role is fully remote and can be done from the comfort of your own home. Our cancer support nurses will match those who wish to avail of peer support with a volunteer who has similar diagnoses/experiences. Volunteers will then make a call and on that call will have a chat, provide a listening ear and any emotional or practical advise with regards to their own personal experience. Full communications training will be given before your volunteering role commences and regular support is available from our Peer Support Coordinator. You will also be invited to regular group support sessions with other Peer Support volunteers and staff.

The volume of calls you will be referred for vary depending on your type of cancer and the length of a call will vary depending on each person. Typically you can expect to take 1 or 2 calls a month and these may average at approximately 30 minutes long each.

What are the requirements to become a Peer / Parent Peer Support Volunteer?

Good listening and communication skills
A caring, understanding and friendly attitude
To be non-judgemental and respect confidentiality
Completed cancer treatment at least 2 years ago, and no more than 5 years ago

We ask volunteers to commit what time is necessary to the patient once you are on a call with them. The length of the call can vary for each person, and we would ask you to be calm, caring and understanding when providing support.

Current Recruitment

We are currently not recruiting for Peer / Parent Peer Support Volunteers.

Role description

A full role description can be downloaded below

Next Steps and Apply now

Application process takes approx. 4-6 weeks and consists of the following steps:

Complete an online application form here
Microsoft Teams interview with a member of the Peer Support team: A short informal chat to assess your suitability for the role and give you the opportunity to ask us any questions.
Online Training: An invitation to a self-guided online training module will be emailed to you. This will include information about the service, your role and guidelines to be followed. A number of volunteer documents must be agreed to at this stage. Completion of this module is required to continue to the next round.
Volunteer references checked. We ask for 2 references on the application form who we can contact at this point of the process.
When the above steps are complete, you will be invited to a mandatory Online Group Communications Training session which will take place via group video call. At this session you will meet a member of the Peer Support team, other new volunteers and discuss the role in more detail with opportunities for questions.
You are ready to join the Peer / Parent Peer Support Volunteer Team!