Peer Support: What Makes It Unique?
Peer support in mental health has recently gained significant attention. There is increasing talk about funding and credentialing, standards and outcomes. But what is peer support and how is it different than services, even services delivered by people who identify themselves as peers? In this paper the authors would like to present a perspective on peer support that defines its difference and also maintains its integrity to the movement from which it came. We will offer some thinking about practice and evaluation standards that may help different types of peer initiatives sustain real peer support values in action. Shery Mead MSW, Cheryl MacNeil Ph.D.
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Ratified Position Papers by the Canadian Coalition of Alternative Mental Health Resources
http://ccamhr.ca/positions.html
Research in action: a research report on the role of consumer driven disability organiszations in the non-profit sector
Consumers In Action (CIA)
The Mental Health Consumers In Action (CIA) project was a 3 phrase project designed to enhance the capacity, advocacy, and leadership skills of mental health consumer/survivors in Canada.
The biggest challenge to the consumer/survivor movement has largely been the inability to sustain the strong consumer/survivor leadership that has come and gone during the last forty years.
The CIA project addressed consumer/survivor leadership issues by identifying past challenges to consumer/survivor leadership, and addressing those challenges by enhancing the capacity, advocacy skills and citizenship rights of mental health consumer/survivors in Canada.
Phase I focused on the development of capacity building workshops and orientation packages to increase the knowledge and leadership skills of consumer/survivors.
Phase II incorporated recruitment and participation of consumer/survivors, in Nova Scotia, in knowledge and skills development activities.
Phase III established two pilot sites in western Canada to generate the same activities, in summer 2001.