Center For Family Services Peer Provider Integration Training for Mercer County OORP Program - December 2019

Peer Provider Integration Training 12-5-2019

On December 5th 2019, the Center For Family Services sponsored a workshop entitled "Creating An Infrastructure That Supports Peer Provider Integration Into Traditional Service Delivery" at the Burlington County Emergency Services Education complex in Westampton NJ. As a Peer Specialist working for MCADA on the Opioid Overdose Recovery Program (OORP), I was fortunate to be able to attend this training and bring the information back for our management to review.

This workshop provided in-depth history of the Peer Recovery specialist movement in both the Mental Health and Substance Use fields, as well as an overview of the challenges and opportunities associated with the Peer movement.  In particular, the facilitator led a series of open discussions and activities, based on "real world experience" that brought out some of the most common cultural, organizational, financial, and ethical challenges associated with integration of peer provider roles into traditional mental health and substance use service provider organizations.  Participants were able to work together with the facilitator to understand the challenges and suggest "best practices" for resolving them quickly and cost-effectively.  As more and more organizations begin to roll out peer services, workshops such as this one will ensure we remain focused on the most important objective - delivering high-quality peer support for consumers in addition to traditional medical and clinical services.