This blog is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Discussion and conversation around the topics of systemic oppression and specifically anti-black systemic racism have been happening with increasing regularity after the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police as we confront the racism that is baked into every aspect of United States society. As these conversations occur and as we educate ourselves on white supremacist culture, systemic racism, and what it means to be anti-racist, it can be easy to want to jump into it all and take on big projects and advocacy work. Before we can begin to do all of that, however, a crucial step is to take some time to reflect on a personal, programmatic, organizational, and systemic level about the role that we all play in perpetuating these harmful systems. That includes us here at the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative examining how this program has perpetuated systemic racism.
To start, and to be clear, this will not just be a laundry list of ways the program has caused harm. Additionally, this post is not meant to serve as a condemnation of those who worked on this program before us or to shame them for decisions that were made. It’s also important to note, I think, that aside from how his program has perpetuated systemic racism, I have personally been taking time to reflect on the ways in which I have caused harm in both my personal and professional lives. Additionally, I’ve been exploring how I can grow in order to reduce the harm I will inevitably cause moving forward.
A June photo of Tim in the Access to Independence parking lot.
The Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative has existed for approximately 12 years and in that time has played a massive role in the development and growth of the professional peer workforce here in Wisconsin. It has contributed to increased recognition of and respect for the voices of people with mental health and substance use lived experiences and continues to push the behavioral healthcare system forward in its provision of services. That being said, it’s important to also recognize that when I say that it has done these things, they have always been through the lens of white women and now, a white-passing man. No matter how we may try to speak on behalf of those with lived experience, without ever having had a Black person or a person of color leading this initiative, it’s impossible for the voices of those communities to be fully heard or accurately represented.
This is also true when we attempt to examine the demographic makeup of the CPS and CPPS workforce. Since its inception over a decade ago, the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative has never collected demographic data on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc. This being the case, no reliable data related to the workforce can be found. This is racist in and of itself as it makes it extremely easy to ignore the issue of workforce diversity, because without the data there is no way for anyone to claim that there’s a problem in the first place, and so it has long been ignored. Although this data isn’t available, we can see from employer feedback, training observation, and comparable date from related behavioral health professions that the CPS and CPPS workforce is made up primarily of straight, cisgender, white women.
As I mentioned, this is a trend seen in other behavioral health and “helping professions” so it is unsurprising; however, the fact that nothing has been done to address this inequity is disappointing to say the least. The Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative has only ever hosted and funded two community-specific CPS trainings and has no mechanisms in place in order to promote and support Black, Indigenous, and participants of color engaging with trainings at an equitable or representative rate to their white counterparts. This has led, and continues to lead to, a workforce that is out of balance with the communities that are being served, and plays a role in continuing the “helping professions’” habit of engaging in white saviorism.
The recent work on the revision of the CPS curriculum has shone a light on another aspect of the program with which we continue to struggle: the topic and presentation of “cultural competency.” While revising the curriculum we worked hard to make adjustments and improvements throughout, and “cultural competency” was one major topic where we struggled with pushing the boundaries and finding ways to weave cultural understanding into the entire curriculum. We were hesitant to push too far on topics such as racism, power and privilege, for fear of making participants uncomfortable, not being able to go deep enough into the topics, among other reasons. While certainly an improvement over what’s currently in the CPS curriculum, the “cultural competency” piece of the revised curriculum could have been made more robust and could have taken a stronger stance on issues of systemic oppression and racism than what made it into the final version.
All of this is to say, the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative, and myself as the Program Manager, have a lot of work to do.
We are offering a Certified Peer Specialist Training of the Trainer this summer. We are specifically hoping to center inclusion, accessiblity, and an anti-oppression, anti-racist approach in this offering. We strongly encourage those that identify as part of a marginalized community to apply.
Both Brittyn and I are currently working to address some of the pieces that I talked about above. Demographic information will soon be a part of the CPS and CPPS training applications, the CPS and CPPS trainers have been tasked with engaging in co-conspirator and anti-racist training to better support marginalized participants, we have been meeting with various community leaders to learn how different communities would like their needs met by this program, and we have been engaging with anti-racist and anti-oppression training and education ourselves. Additionally, we have plans for the coming year to do community-specific trainings and to host a CPS Training of the Trainers targeting members of marginalized communities.
These steps that I’m taking to move the program in a more equitable direction are just first steps, and one year of working to address racism and inequities within the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative cannot undo over a decade of denying or ignoring them. It will take years of work, community collaboration, training and education, regular reflection, and intentional efforts from all of us working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative in order to shift the way this program works, the goal being that anti-racist approaches are ingrained into all aspects of this initiative.
While I will try to hold myself and this initiative accountable, no program nor system should hold such responsibility alone. I invite the CPS and CPPS communities to play a role in ensuring this program is living up to the values of anti-racism, accountability, transparency, and equity. I look forward to continuing to learn and grow, and working to move towards a more equitable and accessible program for anyone interested in becoming a CPS or CPPS in Wisconsin.
On a final note, I realize this post has focused on how I see this initiative has perpetuated systemic racism. I want to invite anyone who is Black, Indigenous, or a person of color to reach out to us if they would like to give voice to aspects of this perpetuation we have missed or do not touch on here. We especially offer this invitation if you have been personally harmed by the ways in which this program has perpetuated systemic racism throughout the years.
Helpful Resources:
Please check out the links highlighted in the article earlier for more information on white saviorism and an anti-racist training we have had our non-BIPOC CPS and CPPS trainers attend.
We would also like to share the following panel that was hosted by the UW-Madison School of Social Work on June 26th of this year. This panel features Certified Peer Specialist leaders in Wisconsin, primarily including Black and Brown Certified Peer Specialists as they discuss peer support in relation to calls to defund police and better support people with “lived experience.” Click here for the recorded video.
Panelists:
Carmella Glenn, CPS, Program Coordinator, Just Bakery/Madison area Urban Ministry
Tim Saubers, CPS, Peer Specialist Program Manager, Access to Independence
Tara Wilhelmi,CPS, Founder of EOTO, LLC
Dani Rischall, LCSW, Chrysalis Executive Director (UW-Madison BSW Alum 2007)
Lastly, we want to thank Urban Triage and Freedom Inc. in Madison for the amazing work and education they have been offering on how to more effectively engage in anti-racist work as individuals and organizations. We recommend you check them out.
This blog is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
What a June this has been.
I reflect today on my experience of Pride Month in this turbulent year. I think of the June 15th Supreme Court decision that advanced the needle towards justice in regards to LGBTQ+ workers’ rights by stating clearly that it is sex discrimination to fire people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. I think of mass uprisings and collective efforts against ongoing racial injustice, systemic racism, and a long history of police violence in the United States experienced in particular by Black communities. I think of the tens of thousands of people who rallied across the country in defense of Black transgender lives a little over a week ago.
I’m a white, queer, and transgender woman. This month’s Pride seems to be much less about rainbow flags and corporate pinkwashing (though that is still seen everywhere) and much more about honoring the roots and lessons of LGBTQ+ liberation efforts in the United States, efforts so often led by Black and Brown trans people, especially trans women. There is still pride, and there is also righteous rage, dancing (though much of the dancing I’ve seen has been in reclaimed city streets and autonomous zones rather than clubs), and joyful resistance. This is not the usual Pride that centers white LGBTQ+ people, people like me, and I’m here for it. I’m here for it, because a world that only recognizes the lived experiences of some and the dignity of some, ends up harming all of us.
The movements that sought to broaden access to peer support for those in contact with the mental health and substance use service systems were inspired by and learned lessons from movements that also recognized the interconnectedness of different struggles for justice and liberation. The words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” are oftentimes seen on banners at disability rights marches and spoken in the circles of self-described psychiatric survivors.
People who had experienced institutionalization, loss of social connections, and/or forceful and coercive treatment because of their lived experiences of intense emotional states, struggles with substance use, or mental health status recognized the value of peer support. Peer support has been a tool of survival in a difficult world for so many. Connecting with others who have “been there” offers so much of value in a world that is reluctant to believe the words and experiences of “crazy people.”
Today’s state-Certified Peer Specialists have somewhat radical elders to thank for broader access to peer support services today. And yet, we have so far to go in making the peer support workforce and the supports we offer an actually trauma-informed, validating, and safer space for anyone other than white, straight, and cisgender people. Our movement and workforce has not done enough to honor and understand intersecting levels of systemic oppression, center anti-racism, and support LGBTQ+ people with “lived experience.”
I have to pause and admit something. I am one of two people working at Access to Independence on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative contract. I work Monday through Friday to support the continued expansion and improvement of Certified Peer Specialists and Certified Parent Peer Specialists and their peer support offerings in Wisconsin. All this is true, and I would feel very hesitant about personally seeking out peer support from any CPS or CPPS in Wisconsin who is not also transgender.
My experience as a trans woman is such that when I have sought out peer support in the past, I found myself in the role of having to constantly educate people on how to show basic respect for me and other trans people. The amount of time I have spent trying to educate people on the importance of respecting and using a person’s expressed pronouns is disheartening. The reluctance so many organizations and agencies have in finding alternatives to calling 911 on people experiencing emotional distress or navigating suicidal feelings greatly scares me as a trans person.
I also believe we have a peer support community and movement on a national scale that seems much more focused on approaching people who have repeatedly caused harm to trans people with curiosity, validation, and affirmation rather than a commitment to trauma-informed, inclusive, and healing environments for those who experience various intersecting levels of oppression. This is one reason I signed an open-letter that speaks to how we approach transphobia in our movement, workforce, and communities.
Brittyn sitting in the parking lot of Access to Independence next to her car. She wears a “Trans Rights are Human Rights” pin and is flanked by a trans pride unicorn bumper sticker.
The circumstances that led me to signing that letter, are the same circumstances that have resulted in me feeling safest and most seen in receiving peer support from other trans people. For anyone who knows me, you might have heard me talk about Trans Lifeline. Trans Lifeline is a peer support resource composed of, operated by, and existing for trans people. Peerness is defined in our shared lived experience as trans people, not by being people with experience navigating mental health or substance use. Trans Lifeline is also one of the few peer support resources in the United States with an expressed commitment to not engage in non-consensual active rescue. Since their founding, they have been divested from the police. That means that if you call Trans Lifeline and you are in crisis, they will not call 911 or the police — unless you explicitly ask them to.
This commitment to no-nonsense informed-consent is a basic requirement for safety and a trauma-informed approach to peer support in my book. It’s the ability to define what safety means to me – not to have someone else make that decision. It’s also a basic component of earning trust and supporting the growth of a genuine relationship of mutual support and respect.
As I reflect on this Pride Month, my queerness and transness, and the future of peer support, I also think of where we can go from here. With widespread calls to defund police and truly invest in people and communities, in healthcare, housing, education, and other basic needs for our communities, there are also calls for more peer support and mental health resources. Yet, many peer support programs operate within the mental health and substance use service systems, systems that many understand to perpetuate systemic racism, and all too often rely on methods of force, coercion, and calling in the police “for our own good.”
I think there is something to be said for re-thinking what makes one a “peer” with another. For some, a meaningful sense of peerness can be found in the shared lived experience of navigating mental health and/or substance use. For others, like me, there may be some other shared lived experience that serves to facilitate a peer connection. That may be a shared experience of Blackness, Indigeneity, transness, disability, and so on.
We see new approaches to the definition of “peer” already in organizations like Trans Lifeline and in peer support resources made by and for veterans. The answer to this question perhaps doesn’t have to be an either/or solution, but our workforce is overwhelmingly composed of white, middle-aged women currently, especially when it comes to those in supervisory or decision-making positions. The composition of our peer workforce and leadership, those serving on committees, drafting organizational policies and procedures, and any systems oversight in our field needs to be acknowledged and addressed.
Some buttons that Brittyn picked up at the National Association of Peer Supporters Conference in San Diego last fall (October 2019).
Is it enough for peer support professionals to be “in but not of” the mental health and substance use service systems? Was that phrase ever really true? By being in these systems, we are still immersed in and affected by the systemic racism and oppressive nature of such systems. I highly recommend that people read the article, “We Don’t Need Cops to Become Social Workers: We Need Peer Support + Community Response Networks.”
I want to be clear here, we can’t meaningfully improve peer support and operate business as usual. If we want to create a world that better supports Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), as well as transgender people, others in the LGBTQ+ spectrum, disabled people, and all those who experience unique levels of systemic oppression, we should be listening to, learning from, and centering the voices of BIPOC people, BIPOC trans people, BIPOC queer people, BIPOC disabled people, and so on. In many ways, these communities and peoples have survived because of peer support, but it wasn’t the peer support we were offering.
Addition:
It’s linked here earlier in the article, but I specifically would ask that people check out the following video that Freedom Inc. put together about the Stonewall Uprising and how Black & POC members of the LGBTQI+ community continue to fight for liberation: Queer Power Rising video – click here
Also, I am looking forward to an upcoming panel that is being hosted by the UW-Madison School of Social Work this Friday, June 26th from 12-1:30pm Central time. This panel features Certified Peer Specialist leaders in Wisconsin, primarily including Black and Brown Certified Peer Specialists as they discuss peer support in relation to calls to defund police and better support people with “lived experience.”
Presenters:
Carmella Glenn, CPS, Program Coordinator, Just Bakery/Madison area Urban Ministry
Tim Saubers, CPS, Peer Specialist Program Manager, Access to Independence
Tara Wilhelmi,CPS, Founder of EOTO, LLC
Dani Rischall, LCSW, Chrysalis Executive Director (UW-Madison BSW Alum 2007)
For more information and a link to view the discussion, click here.
This blog is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Here at the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative, we believe that quality training and education is a crucial foundation of effective Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) services.
Peer support is a valuable and powerful way of connecting with others through shared lived experience, inspiring hope for the future, and supporting empowered and self-directed change. The principles that Certified Peer Specialists value and the skills most needed in supportive peer relationships are clarified and developed in initial training. They are then expanded upon and honed in our work and continuing education.
In 2016, Wisconsin developed a curriculum that integrated professional peer support competency and training relating to both mental health lived experience and the experience of substance use challenges. As the pilot period for that initial integrated curriculum came to a close, we kick-started the rigorous task of revising the Wisconsin Certified Peer Specialist Curriculum.
Learning from Our Trainers
In February, and again in May, of 2019, the Peer Specialist Program Manager sent a survey, to all 35 Certified Peer Specialist trainers in Wisconsin. The survey was designed by the Peer Specialist Program Manager with input from WI Department of Health Services (DHS) staff in order to gather feedback from the trainers regarding areas and aspects of the pilot CPS Curriculum that they wanted to see revised.
Trainers were asked what they found most effective in the pilot curriculum, what they wanted to see added or removed, and what they found least effective or challenging. 14 trainers completed and returned the survey in this initial step.
On August 6th and 7th 2019, 14 CPS trainers were brought together to begin work on revising the CPS curriculum. In order to participate in the workgroup, trainers were required to have completed and returned the WI Certified Peer Specialist Curriculum Feedback Survey and to have facilitated at least 2 CPS trainings. Trainers were divided into four groups and assigned 3 sections of the curriculum to review in advance.
Trainers remained in their assigned group for facilitated discussion and synthesis of their review of the material. The four groups were facilitated by the Peer Specialist Program Manager and DHS staff. The groups discussed and explored each section they were assigned, after which they shared their feedback with the larger group. Finally, the larger group was given time to add additional feedback. Throughout this process, thorough notes were taken on flip chart paper to account for every piece of feedback.
On August 13th, the Peer Specialist Program Manager and DHS staff met to debrief from the Curriculum Revision Workgroup and to put together a project proposal for review by the Integrated Services Section Chief at DHS. After approval, the feedback gathered from the Curriculum Revision Workgroup was transcribed and condensed into one document to aid in the revision process.
Scott Caldwell tried out a section of the revised curriculum with our CPS trainers in September, 2019.
Diving into Revision
On September 3rd, and going until April of 2020, the Peer Specialist Program Manager (Tim), Peer Specialist Program Communications Assistant (myself – Brittyn), and DHS staff set about revising the structure and content of the CPS curriculum. Our core team met 2 – 3 times per week for approximately 7 hours each day to work on revision. Throughout the whole process, the CPS trainers’ feedback and the Wisconsin Certified Peer Specialist Core Competencies were kept close at hand and referred to frequently.
We benefited from the various strengths of all members of this core team throughout the process. Tim and myself brought forward the lens of peer support principles, first-hand experience working as Certified Peer Specialists, experience supervising teams of Certified Peer Specialists, as well as our lived experience. Tim and I also had the benefit of being very familiar with the challenges and successes of training during the pilot period. Cory, the Peer Run Respite & Peer Services Coordinator at DHS, brought a very grounding and methodical approach to the group as we set deadlines, reviewed formatting expectations and guidelines, and worked our way through the project plan. Joann, the Consumer Affairs Coordinator at DHS as well as a Certified Parent Peer Specialist, provided a wealth of experience in advocating within systems and supporting trauma-informed approaches. Scott, also from DHS who has helped with the training of CPS trainers in Wisconsin, offered crucial expertise and insights relating to communication frameworks, implementation science, and effective training elements.
In efforts to get as much input and feedback as possible, a variety of people were brought in to support the team throughout the process in specific content areas covered in the curriculum. These included other DHS staff, CPS trainers, members of the Certified Peer Specialist Advisory Committee, as well as state and national leaders in mental health and substance use. These individuals provided support on topics including:
The team met regularly with the Integrated Services Section Chief throughout the process and provided regular updates to the Certified Peer Specialist Advisory Committee, as well as posting regular updates to the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative’s social media pages.
Brittyn (left), Joann (center), and Tim (right) smile for a picture on a January revision day at Access to Independence.
In March and April of 2020, the revision team reviewed changes, made finishing touches, and finally submitted the first draft of the revised CPS curriculum to UW-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education for editing and formatting.
After UW-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education completes its review, the revised CPS curriculum will be submitted to DHS for final review and approval. This is a multi-step process that will also involve the revision team responding to feedback provided by the DHS approval team. Once this process is completed, the revised CPS curriculum will be returned to UW-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education for printing.
Late this summer, a mandatory retraining of the CPS trainers will take place in order to ensure that trainers are prepared to effectively facilitate the revised curriculum.
What’s Different?
Because the revised CPS curriculum is still a draft and is currently in the review process, we can’t share too much about specific changes yet. What we can share is that we are so proud of and grateful for the work that was done and contribution made by so many throughout this revision.
We believe this revised curriculum will better center peer support principles, clarify the professional role of a Certified Peer Specialist, and prepare people for the workplace, all while supporting effective adult learning. One big improvement is sure to be a reinvigorated focus on effective listening and communication skill-development for Certified Peer Specialists. Other topics such as supporting peers around the topic of suicide, honoring multiple pathways to recovery, spirituality and peer support, and trauma-informed peer support are expanded upon and refreshed to better develop Wisconsin’s valuable Certified Peer Specialist workforce.
This blog is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
We are excited to announce the launch of this blog for current and future Certified Peer Specialists and Certified Parent Peer Specialists in Wisconsin!
This is a place for us to discuss and dive into topics relating to the work of people in peer specialist roles throughout the state. Posts will explore the values and ethics that guide our work, how to approach challenges in the workplace, navigating ethical dilemmas, efforts to offer peer support while acknowledging and honoring the impacts of marginalization and oppression, providing and receiving effective supervision in a peer support role, and more!
Tim and Brittyn will likely author the majority of posts here towards the beginning, though we plan to bring on guest authors and contributors in the future. These people will be mostly Certified Peer Specialists and Certified Parent Peer Specialists throughout the state talking about their work and the important issues they encounter in that work.
Today, we launch our blog with two entries that offer a deeper introduction to Tim and Brittyn, the Peer Specialist Program Manager and Peer Specialist Program Communications Assistant. Throughout the month of May, we will share more on the revision of the Certified Peer Specialist curriculum in Wisconsin, how the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative is striving towards greater program transparency and accessibility, as well as a general program overview of the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative and its future direction and vision in this new decade.
We invite you to contact us to let us know what topics you would like to see covered in this blog. If you have questions, it’s possible we can make a blog post about it!
Please, bookmark this page and follow along as we share and learn together. We will also update our social media pages when new posts are published. You can like and follow us on our Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram accounts.
Thank you for visiting today, and happy reading!
This blog is managed and maintained by staff at Access to Independence working on the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. The words, views, and values presented herein are not necessarily representative of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
As we launch this blog for the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative, I would like to take an opportunity to introduce myself, share a bit of my background in peer support work, and some things I’m excited for in my role here as the Peer Specialist Program Communications Assistant.
The things that brought me to my work as a Certified Peer Specialist, are similar to many others drawn to such work. My personal, lived experience relating to navigating periods of intense emotional distress, the effects of trauma, challenges with substance use, and the material impacts of marginalization due to my sexuality and gender identity led me to seek out support from others who “got it” in one way or another. I felt more comfortable, and most safe, sharing and seeking support from others with shared or similar experiences.
Experiencing the unique benefits of peer support first-hand is what led me to want to offer the same to others. After completing my training and taking the Wisconsin exam, I began working as a Wisconsin Certified Peer Specialist in 2014. I found myself, throughout the coming years, offering support and forming connections and relationships built on mutuality with a wide range of people in a variety of settings including neighborhood coffee shops, local libraries, parks, hospitals, homes, peer-run respites, and community centers.
I embarked on my journey as a Certified Peer Specialist working with Grassroots Empowerment Project (GEP), supporting people who were navigating their own lived experience and recovery while also striving towards employment and vocational goals within the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation system. While with GEP, I also served as a facilitator in the Participatory Decision-Making process for various stakeholders in La Crosse and Sauk Counties. These stakeholders looked for ways to better support people with lived experience and address challenges in the service systems specific to their communities. It was also during this first job as a Certified Peer Specialist that I began diving into continuing education opportunities. In the years I have maintained my certification, continuing education has been a primary source of professional support and development.
In 2015, with both informal and professional peer support experience as well as the positive influence of trainings such as Intentional Peer Support, I began facilitating Certified Peer Specialist trainings around Wisconsin. This experience facilitating CPS trainings between 2015-2016 helps me in my role today supporting current trainers in Wisconsin.
After my time with GEP, I began working at Solstice House Peer-Run Respite in Madison. I started as a third-shift peer specialist and quickly developed new skill-sets for supporting people more “in the thick of it.” Within a year of starting there I moved into the House Manager position, overseeing the peer support taking place in the respite and on the Warmline, coordinating scheduling, and offering on-call support as peer specialists navigated difficult experiences, whether it be interpersonal, logistical, or ethical.
In time, I found myself moving on from my role with Solstice House and moved to Western Massachusetts to serve as a Community Coordinator with the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community. There, I engaged with some of the most impactful work I have done while offering direct support in a peer role. Facilitating Alternatives to Suicide groups, Hearing Voices Network groups, and LGBTQ+ specific support groups taught me new ways to connect with others authentically. Supervising a team of others in peer support roles taught me about the need for supervision rooted in and consistent with peer support values. I also developed a deepened understanding of the peer principle of mutuality and how the struggle against various forms of marginalization and oppression can support us in our work as we build genuine human relationships and connect with others in times of struggle as well as times of joy. Though I learned so much from my time in Massachusetts and formed connections I value greatly still today, life had a way of bringing me back to Wisconsin.
In August of 2019, I began working with Access to Independence and the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative. Since starting in my role as the Peer Specialist Program Communications Assistant, I have grown my professional skill-sets in new ways. Some highlights include:
My ultimate goal is to better support the improvement and expansion of peer specialist services in Wisconsin through developing clear and accessible web content for CPS and CPPS, improving the training of people in peer specialist roles, connecting people with quality professional development and continuing education resources, as well as supporting the formation of a wider network and community of practice of people in peer specialist roles to support and learn from one another.
In my non-work life, I spend most of my time with my family and engaging in political and organizing efforts against oppression and for a more just world. I find nature time to be essential. Walking through woods and being near flowing water is perhaps the most restorative experience for me.
I look forward to sharing more with you all in this blog, as we discuss topics important and helpful for people in peer specialist roles in Wisconsin.