Cavdas Peer Recovery

Background to CAVDAS:
The CAVDAS Alliance brings together the skills, experience, and expertise of three

Welsh substance use organisations - Barod, Kaleidoscope and Recovery Cymru
- and the Cardiff and Vale Area Planning Board. CAVDAS was formed to deliver

innovative services based on the needs of the people in Cardiff and Vale. This unique

arrangement for Welsh services allows space for the voices of people using services

to be heard and for their needs to be met in the ways that work for them. That way,

we can continue to further develop services as required.

We exist to make sure every individual can get the support, information and advice

they need regarding their own or someone else’s drug and alcohol use. We support

every age group and people can get in touch with us directly or via a professional

referral. We call this our ‘No wrong door’ approach: however, and whenever people

get in touch about any drug and alcohol concerns, we’ll know how to help. We

believe the best services are produced together with the people who need them and

who have first-hand experience of what works well. This is how we develop our

services and why we have a strong, professional peer support team who are a very

important part of our approach.

The CAVDAS Peer Recovery Team

This role sits within the CAVDAS Peer Recovery Team which seeks to ensure peer

support is available to people accessing CAVDAS at all stages of change and

recovery. The team offers:

- 1:1 peer support
- Groupwork
- Peer support for people accessing treatment services, preparing to access or

at risk of dropping out
- Recovery and aftercare programmes, including a community rehab

programme
- Voices Action Change - coproduction and service user involvement
- Community connections
- Volunteering
- Co-delivery and a pathway to the wider Recovery Community via the recovery

centre

You will sit in a team of five recovery and aftercare workers.

Purpose of the role:
Our recovery and aftercare workers in CAVDAS offer peer support to people who are

seeking support to make and sustain changes to their alcohol and / or drug use. We

offer support in person, online and via phone/text. The team offers a range of

support for people to meet other people with lived experience; to participate in

recovery groupwork; undertake the community rehab programme and ‘exit’ other

more traditional forms of substance use treatment. You will support people to build

their recovery capital and to leave the treatment system in a planned and supported

way, without fear of not being able to re-enter for support should they need it. You

will work closely with the Recovery Cymru recovery community to engage people in

ad infinitum support outside of treatment services. You will collaborate on the

running of the open access recovery centre which is available to people 7 days per

week. This is an exciting role through which you can help people to transform their

lives. Your recovery and wellbeing are critical to us and in your role, you will have

access to support, training, coaching and mentoring. Your work will focus on:

- Offering planned and structured 1:1 peer support
- Running groups
- Delivering the community rehab programme
- Contributing to the running of the open access recovery centre

Our peer support model is based upon C.H.I.M.E. - connection, hope, identity,

meaning and empowerment. This is not a counselling or treatment role. It is

essential that you are both able to build rapport and work with individuals from all

backgrounds in a non-judgemental and supportive way.

CAVDAS Community Rehabilitation model

The community rehabilitation model is an exciting innovation in Cardiff and Vale to

extend the provision of structured psychosocial recovery programmes within the

community setting. Critically it is co-delivered by substance use workers, peer

recovery and aftercare workers and volunteers. The programmes include timetabled

psychosocial groups, recovery coaching, 1:1 psychosocial interventions and access

to both counselling and recovery community activities.

Critically, you will embody and represent the RC recovery community ethos and

model and will operate at the interface between CAVDAS treatment services, the

recovery community and recovery supportive community assets. Volunteering is

central to the peer model, and you will work closely with volunteers, offering

support, and ‘on the job’ skills development. You will support the work of Voices

Action Change to ensure service users across the system design, deliver and monitor

the work of CAVDAS.

We are looking for people with lived experience of overcoming issues with alcohol

and / or other drugs, in a place of stability to enable you to support others. We have

a strong focus on recovery, wellbeing, and training for our staff, taking our

responsibility as an employer seriously. Recovery support is built into our staff

approach.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
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