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Posted on 3 May 2022

We are really proud of our Peer Support Worker (PSW) Ellie who has been awarded a Nottingham Roosevelt Scholarship. She will explore career progression for PSWs within the NHS & learn from organisations of best practice in the US which are implementing Peer Leadership/Peer Led services.

A peer support worker is someone who has lived experience, and who uses that lived experience to help and support other people who are experiencing distress.

You can hear from Ellie below about this exciting opportunity and what this means to her.

“My name is Ell and I am a Peer Support Worker for Mansfield LMHT and now have the bursting pride and honour to introduce myself as a Roosevelt Scholar for 2022!

“The process of becoming a Scholar began back in January when a colleague of mine introduced me to the Nottingham Roosevelt Memorial Traveling Scholarship. A prestige Scholarship opportunity aimed at people aged 21-35 living or working in Nottingham offering the opportunity to travel around the US to explore a work or voluntary topic of choice. Instantly it was as though the opportunity was screaming at me in the face and I could not let it pass.

“Since becoming a Peer Support Worker I have always embraced my role with genuine curiosity of how the beauty of Peer Support could blossom and develop. Words cannot describe the privilege I have felt in sharing my own experiences of healing with people I am supporting along their personal healing journeys.

“My application detailed where we are at as a Trust in terms of Peer Support and portrayed my keen passion, activism and determination to offer a further contribution to developing our role. I was successful in securing a first interview and then a further second interview where I delivered a presentation detailing my proposed project and what it could bring back for the whole of Nottinghamshire (and beyond!). I left this interview full of a huge sense of achievement knowing I had given it my all. An hour or so later I received the life changing call to say I had been awarded the Scholarship!

“Months of research, networking, composure and sheer determination had paid off and I was overwhelmed with emotion. All I remember from the call was repeatedly thanking Russ and blubbering away for honouring me with this opportunity that I could have only imagined in my wildest dreams.

“I am eternally grateful for this opportunity and hope to embrace it with complete grace and decorum.

“My proposal will see me visit organisations of best practice to further my understanding of Peer Support with a focus on Peer Led Services and Peer Leadership roles and courses.

I will be acting as an ambassador for the Roosevelt Scholarship, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and ImROC. I will be planning my itinerary with a mentor from the Roosevelt Scholarship and will embark upon my adventure before the end of the calendar year.

“I would not have seen any of this possible if it wasn’t for being part of the Mansfield Local Mental Health Team. The team is bursting at the seams with passionate and dedicated individuals working in the team supporting people accessing our services to reach their full potential and more on their healing journeys.

“I would also like to seize this opportunity to personally thank Emma, Becky and Saffron for their unconditional love and support both personally along my own healing journey and professionally within my career development. They have embraced me with genuine compassion, wisdom and opportunities and highlighted and encouraged my personal strengths from the very beginning of my Peer Support journey.

“I hope to pave the way and inspire established and future Peer Support Workers.  I whole heartedly believe we are genuine agents of change.

Ellie will be documenting her updates through social media and can be found on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by searching @PeeringEll.