Peer Support

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Peer Support
National Training Workshop Burlington, VT

• By Douglas B. Carmon
• National AgrAbility Project Manager

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Definition
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Definition

• PEER (pir) n.
• 1. A person who has equal standing with another,
  such as in age, gender, disability and life
  experiences
• 2. Archaic. A companion fellow

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Definition

• A peer is someone who may or may not be like us
  in obvious ways, but is someone with whom we
  share a basic humanity, uniqueness, or experience

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Definition

• All people share universal human experiences
• By virtue of this shared humanity,
  we are all peers

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Definition

• System of giving and receiving help founded on
  key principles of respect, shared responsibility,
  and mutual agreement of what is considered to be
  helpful

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Characteristics

• Mutual respect
• Positive regard
• Empowerment of the client
• the assumption that the client has the solutions
  to his/her own problems and does not need your
  advice of direction
• Genuineness
• being oneself
• authenticity

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Characteristics

• Acceptance of differences
• does not mean agreement, but acceptance based on
  respect
• Empathy
• allowing oneself to feel with another person
• Intention to be of service to another

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Skills

• Listening from the heart
• listening with an open heart
• willing to be touched by another
• willing to engage with another person's emotions

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Skills

• Speaking from the heart
• speaking authentically
• honest self-expression

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Skills

• Acting from the heart in service to another
  person
• acting based on compassion, caring, and an
  intention to be of service to another

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Peer Program

• Designed to bring answers and support to people
  with newly acquired disabilities, as well as
  people who have been disabled for some time

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Peer Volunteer

• An individual who has adjusted well to being
  disabled and is living independently

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Peer Volunteer

• Meet with participants with similar disabilities
  and share information about adaptive equipment,
  family and marital issues, transportation,
  employment and education
• Sharing experiences information
• Emotionally
• Physically
• Psychologically

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Peer Volunteer Benefits

• Increases feeling of self-worth and
  accomplishmentcontributing to help another the
  community
• Inspiring others often inspires the Peer
  Volunteer
• Improves interpersonal and communication skills

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Peer Recipient Benefits

• Provides opportunity to achieve a greater level
  of independence and self-sufficiency through role
  modeling and encouragement
• Participant is often encouraged to take sensible
  risks
• Peer Volunteers can often accomplish this better
  than professionals

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Peer Recipient Benefits

• Peers can often motivate people to do things
  previously thought as impossible
• Development of better coping
  skills
• Community
• Red tape
• Attitudes
• Modifications
• Adaptations

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Peer Recipient Benefits

• Often receive emotional support and new
  techniques for managing problems
• Learn self-advocacy skills
• Have a role model to follow to enhance
  self-worth, a sense of identification by
  reduction of isolation and separation

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Bottom line

• Help where help will be accepted
• Enable self directed
  solutions
• Referrals
• Do no harm
• Be safe to self and others