You and other commenters here have raised important points about fidelity to the vision and mission of peer respites and peer supports. Organizational structure is critical because as you point out, having people with lived experience in leadership and governance positions can help to ensure that peer respites operate differently than other traditional crisis services. I’m also glad you brought up Intentional Peer Support as a vital part of the model because IPS is premised on mutual peer relationships and rejects the power dynamics you see in traditional crisis services. I am part of a group of researchers who are interested in contributing to the knowledge base in both of these areas – understanding how organizational structure and adherence to IPS principles is linked to outcomes for guests.
In terms of the peer respite/crisis alternatives movement in general, the National Empowerment Center has a page with lots of information and resources for people interested in this model. You could use the information posted there (and this research) to advocate for peer respites in your area: http://www.power2u.org/crisis-alternatives.html
If you’re interested in making donations, the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care operates a fund for Intentional Peer Support. I believe the funds are used to cover the costs of IPS training, but you could contact them for more details: http://www.mentalhealthexcellence.org/projects/intentional-peer-support-fund/
In terms of supporting this research in particular, simply spreading the word is helpful. One goal of this kind of research is to promote dialogue about how to support people to live meaningful lives in the community without confining and marginalizing them. More research will build the evidence base and further the dialogue. If you’re someone who works with or at a peer respite or similar program, I’d encourage you to think about how you might use research/data/evaluation to document the impact of the program as well as best practices and lessons learned for implementation. Laysha Ostrow and I created a toolkit for people interested in this kind of work: http://www.hsri.org/publication/peer-respite-toolkit
Hi Steve. Yes, 2nd Story is similar to the Soteria model in some ways and certainly has its roots there. Yana Jacobs, who got her start at Soteria, was one of the project’s founders and co-directed the project when she was at the Santa Cruz Behavioral Health Department.
Thanks so much for this post. The video is wonderful.
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Hi Pauline, thanks for the comment and for describing your exciting work in New Zealand.
Try this link to access the toolkit: http://www.hsri.org/publication/peer-respite-toolkit
I’ll see about correcting the link in the text too.
You and other commenters here have raised important points about fidelity to the vision and mission of peer respites and peer supports. Organizational structure is critical because as you point out, having people with lived experience in leadership and governance positions can help to ensure that peer respites operate differently than other traditional crisis services. I’m also glad you brought up Intentional Peer Support as a vital part of the model because IPS is premised on mutual peer relationships and rejects the power dynamics you see in traditional crisis services. I am part of a group of researchers who are interested in contributing to the knowledge base in both of these areas – understanding how organizational structure and adherence to IPS principles is linked to outcomes for guests.
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Thanks for asking! A few ideas:
In terms of the peer respite/crisis alternatives movement in general, the National Empowerment Center has a page with lots of information and resources for people interested in this model. You could use the information posted there (and this research) to advocate for peer respites in your area: http://www.power2u.org/crisis-alternatives.html
If you’re interested in making donations, the Foundation for Excellence in Mental Health Care operates a fund for Intentional Peer Support. I believe the funds are used to cover the costs of IPS training, but you could contact them for more details: http://www.mentalhealthexcellence.org/projects/intentional-peer-support-fund/
In terms of supporting this research in particular, simply spreading the word is helpful. One goal of this kind of research is to promote dialogue about how to support people to live meaningful lives in the community without confining and marginalizing them. More research will build the evidence base and further the dialogue. If you’re someone who works with or at a peer respite or similar program, I’d encourage you to think about how you might use research/data/evaluation to document the impact of the program as well as best practices and lessons learned for implementation. Laysha Ostrow and I created a toolkit for people interested in this kind of work: http://www.hsri.org/publication/peer-respite-toolkit
Report comment
Hi Steve. Yes, 2nd Story is similar to the Soteria model in some ways and certainly has its roots there. Yana Jacobs, who got her start at Soteria, was one of the project’s founders and co-directed the project when she was at the Santa Cruz Behavioral Health Department.
Report comment