Peer Support

"Recovery doesn’t mean my problems go away… It just means I have the tools to deal with them."

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What is Peer Support?

Peer support programs provide an opportunity for consumers who have achieved significant recovery to assist others in their recovery journeys. Peer specialists model recovery, teach skills and offer supports to help people experiencing mental health challenges lead meaningful lives in the community.

Peer specialists promote recovery; enhance hope and social networking through role modeling and activation; and supplement existing treatment with education, empowerment, and aid in system navigation.

Peer supporters are people who use their experience of recovery from mental health disorders to support others in recovery. Combined with skills often learned in formal training, their experience, and institutional knowledge put them in a unique position to offer support.

• Reduce symptoms and hospitalizations
• Increase social support and participation in the community
• Decrease lengths of hospital stays and costs of services
• Improve well-being, self-esteem, and social functioning
• Encourage more thorough and longer-lasting recoveries

More information can be found at http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/peer-services.