January 2023 CPS & CPPS Supervisor’s Community of Practice
February 23rd, 2023 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT
Peter Bullimore
The chair of the National Paranoia Network, Pete Bullimore, is testament to how effective accepting and working with voices and paranoia can be.
Pete heard his first voice aged seven. “I heard a child’s voice telling me to keep going, that everything would be OK. It was reassuring, a bit like an imaginary friend,” he says. But as bad things happened in my life the voices increased in number, eventually turning sinister and aggressive. “They told me to set myself on fire, to slash myself and destroy myself, often 20 or 30 voices all shouting at me at once,” he says. By his mid-twenties Pete had lost his business, his family, his home, everything. “The voices just encompassed my life; I curled up in a chair and didn’t wash or eat. “I was locked in a world of voices, paranoia and depression, and it was probably the most frightening time of my life,” he says.
Pete spent more than a decade after that on heavy medication, but the voices never went away. He had to get out of the psychiatric system to recover. It was only when he came off the medication and met people who share his experiences at the hearing voices network that he was able to stop being so afraid of the voices and actually start listening to them. He changed his relationship with his voices and worked through the meaning of his voices and paranoia. He now runs his own training and consultancy agency delivering training on hearing voices childhood trauma and paranoia internationally. He is a guest lecturer at fourteen Universities in the UK. He has set up Maastricht Centre’s at the Radbone unit in Derby and the Hartington unit in Chesterfield in collaboration with Derby NHS trust; he has now launched a Maastricht Approach center in Bradford and a National Maastricht Center in Telford
“I wouldn’t want to get rid of my voices now, they’re part of me,” he says.
Workshop will include:
1) How common is it to hear voices?
2) How voices can be experiences in different ways
3) Three phases of hearing voices & understanding the metaphor of voices
4) Thought stopping
5) Short term coping strategies for voices hearer’s
6) The history of paranoia
7) Identifying the role of neglect in paranoia
8 ) The three stages of paranoia
9) Understanding the body state information
10) Working with unusual beliefs
11) Decoding beliefs
We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Thursday, March 9th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on March 16th, 2023. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.
This website 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.
January 2023 CPS & CPPS Supervisor’s Community of Practice
January 26th, 2023 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT
Victor Q. Kilpatrick Jr.
Victor Kilpatrick is an Armed Forces Veteran who served over 7 years in the United States Navy as a Culinary Specialist Third Class. Like many young men and women, he joined the military right after he graduated high school in 1994. The Navy taught Victor many things like values, work ethic, and attention to detail; however, it also left him with both physical and mental scars. In 2019, he began working for Mental Health America Wisconsin as the Veteran Project Coordinator at the R&R House PRR-V, and he became Certified as a Peer Support Specialist in the State of Wisconsin that same year. Victor is currently serving as the State Peer Program Manager for MHA Wisconsin, and is also a facilitator for the Certified Peer Support Training and Milwaukee Dryhootch Quick Reaction Force Training.
Mental health, Post-Traumatic Stress & Substance Use Disorders, Depression, and Moral Injury are some of the unique trauma and challenges that often follows a Veteran military service. Quality, community-specific peer support that is strength based, peer driven, and trauma informed is important to a veteran who may be looking for their own road to recovery. Although there are several quality respites located across the state of Wisconsin i.e., Iris Place-Appleton WI, The Lacrosse Lighthouse-Lacrosse WI, Solstice House-Madison WI, Monarch House- Menomonie WI, and Parachute House-Milwaukee WI none offered a Veteran tailored peer support or inquired if the person their serving identifies as a former service member.
In 2019 Mental Health America was awarded a state grant to open the first Peer-Run Respite for Veterans. To provide safe and welcoming space for those Veterans experiencing challenges in their recovery and to improve their coping skills with support from other Veterans who are also Certified Peer Support Specialists. Peer Specialists are trained to use their own experience of recovery to support others on their path to wellness. The R&R House PRR-V only serves veterans for in-person stays at the respite but also supports Veterans and their family members on our 24hr non-crisis warmline, our Virtual Veterans Support Group with resources. The R&R House serves veterans residing in the state of Wisconsin and is located in the southeast region of the state, where over half of Wisconsin veterans live.
We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Thursday, February 9th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on February 16th, 2023. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.
This website 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.
December 2022 CPS & CPPS Supervisor’s Community of Practice
December 20th, 2022 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT
Braunwynn Franklin
Braunwynn is a survivor of marginalization. Having 5 strikes in a system of social injustices has been the empowerment for her journey. Braunwynn Franklin is a trained Peer Support in 3 States, she was a peer supervisor in the Portland, Oregon area for 6 years and is a trainer in various holistic and peer curriculums. She has advocated nationally in the peer mental health and prison reform communities and is dedicated to making a difference in these communities. Also, she has worked with and trained individuals in various settings as well as in several States in peer support, peer wellness and other health-related peer services. She is a returning citizen from the criminal justice system and still serves on the board of directors for 2 Portland, Oregon Organizations. Braunwynn is the current chair of the board of directors for the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery as well as an advisor on the Michigan Peer Recovery Coalition. Braunwynn has recently started 313 Network Solutions and Voice 2 the Voiceless Podcast because she sees the injustice that has impacted people of color and other diverse communities wants to give people their voices back who have been oppressed in the various system.
Braunwynn has invited us to view previous speaking opportunities she has participated in, we invite you to view the following videos & podcast by clicking the titles below:
Braunwynn has offered to share her expertise & lived experience to facilitate a discussion about the vision & founding principles of peer support, what these principles truly look in practice and how these values tend to look much different today, as our workforce grow & move into greater spaces. In the 70’s, a group of survivors of psychiatric systems wrote pamphlets, established advocacy groups and tried to bring their experiences to the public regarding their severe mistreatment in systems. However, with so much stigma surrounding mental & behavioral health conditions, many communities did not want “ex-patients” in their towns and once again, they were on the outside, looking in.
The peer movement began when those “ex-patients” began to seeking out one another, creating lasting relationships, and supporting each other through their lived experience. Systems were slow to move toward peer support, but those with lived experience quickly adopted the philosophy of peers supporting peers, both in the community & ironically, in professional mental health care settings too. Would the forerunners of the peer support movement recognize peer support today, in our practice today? What was the vision of peer support & the founding principles of peer support when the peer support movement was started?
Braunwynn will help us take a deeper look at our own practices, take an honest evaluation of our peer support practices, and ask ourselves, “am I honoring peer support in my practices and the way I live? Have I moved away from or closer to true peer support in my supervision practices?” Braunwynn will walk with us and help us we lean into to the “Keys of peer support supervision,” focus on the values, boundaries, and ethics and how to navigate peer support in an authentic way. She will help us take a look at holding fidelity to the framework in our own practices, and gain understanding on how to resist becoming compliant to the confining practices that move us out of our framework of liberation. True peer support holds true liberating power on its own, our practice of alternate healing modalities coupled with lived experience, and empathy has provided pathways for countless people to live their dreams and goals without limitations, when so many told them they would never live. We cannot afford to not be true to it in our practice. Join us, as we take a look in the mirror and examine our work. As we lean into greater understanding, before we can change anything, we must begin with taking a look at our own practices first.
We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Tuesday, January 3rd. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on January 10th, 2023. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.
This website 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.
October 2022 CPS & CPPS Supervisor’s Community of Practice
October 27th, 2022 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT
Tara Wilhelmi, CPS, CPPS, CPS Trainer, Facilitator, Consultant, & Entrepreneur
Tara Wilhelmi leads a grassroots community recovery and wellness organization, EOTO Culturally Rooted. She is a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS), Certified Parent Peer Specialist (CPPS) and state trainer of Certified Peer Specialists and trainers. She provides support to individuals navigating mental health, substance use and trauma recovery. Driven by her passion for positive social change and thriving, healthy communities of color she enjoys acting as a connector and seed planter working on several impactful collaborations throughout Wisconsin. As a Certified Peer Specialist and lived experience public speaker Tara subscribes to a “each one teach one” knowledge and skill sharing ideology that she believes is key to challenging systemic injustice. She has presented and trained on topics such as valuing & integrating the voice of lived experience, implicit bias and understanding culture/power/privilege to audiences on a national, state, and local level. Her unique approach and compassionate delivery make conquering these difficult conversations an act of bravery and not an exercise in guilt, shame, or fear. We all have work to do to create a safer, more just society – Tara believes that together we can!
Cano Padilla, CPS, CPS Trainer, Facilitator, Consultant, & Business
Cano has over ten years of experience working with children, families, and individuals as an advocate/mentor and for two years as a Certified Peer Specialist. His professional experience include developing and facilitating programs for at-risk youth for organizations such as Boys and Girls Club of Greater Green Bay, Advocates for Healthy Transitional Living LLC, and is currently at Better Days Mentoring LLC where he serves as the Behavioral Case Manager. He has additional experience in Trauma Informed Care, Emotional CPR, Crisis Intervention, Loss and Grief, in school support for students, Volunteering, Community Gardening, Cooking/Nutrition for youth ages 6-18. He has an abundance of experience facilitating group activities, providing academic support, and creating opportunities for teens to experience college tours, career/job shadowing, along with developing daily living skills. Cano is a lifelong learner continuing to support healing and connection to those in need. He is inspired by people’s stories and strength in those people while also feeling privileged to work with them. Through his own life experience and lessons learned, he hopes to enrich the lives of others and be an outlet for all those who may need support as a Peer Specialist, mentor, or impactful youth programming.
Dominique serves as a Certified Peer Support Specialist/Trainer
Dominique supports people with mental health challenges, psychological trauma, and substance use through AYA Advocacy Group. She is a social worker and graduated with a Masters degree from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. She currently serves as a Housing Program Manager at The Road Home Dane County, overseeing staff who support families experiencing chronic and literal homelessness. Being a CPS allows her to support others through their recovery journey through the encouragement of self-direction and autonomy in their choices. She finds that the greatest part of being a CPS is that she advocates for systemic and policy change at all system levels through teaching an approach that humanizes adverse experiences, trauma, and individualized coping mechanisms. In this work, she appreciates the freedom to choose herself every time, and every day, she is reminded that she is far greater than her troubles. The work is rewarding because it sees her not for what she has been through but for who she’s becoming. As a CPS trainer, her story is her candle; when she trains people, she uses her candle to ignite their flame.
Heather Lynn (fka Mroch), (she/her and they/them), B.A., CPS, CPPS, CPS Trainer, Facilitator, Consultant, & Peerprenuer
Heather is guided by the values of peer support and aspires to embody the values in all their decision and business practices. The values of access, inclusion à felt sense of belonging, peace and justice informs all their work and gives direction in their life. Heather has been a business owner since 2016 and has recently transitioned to being completely self-employed in 2021. Heather’s main role is providing 1:1 yoga facilitation and peer services in the Milwaukee County Comprehensive Community Services network. Additionally, Heather provides consulting and Peer Specialist trainings across the State of Wisconsin as an independent contractor. Other pursuits that Heather is actively working on include a writing project, “The Embodiment of Peer Support,” leading workshops at conferences, offering trauma sensitive yoga workshops at yoga studios in the Milwaukee area, training community members in Reiki Level 1 and 2, 1:1 and group Reiki and healing sessions, and pursuing real estate projects in the City of Milwaukee. Additionally, Heather has recently submitted Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for several projects via Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division. Heather has 10+ years of professional experience in the field. Heather received their BA in Anthropology and Peace Studies for UW-Milwaukee plus a plethora of additional trainings and some graduate level work. Heather enjoys spending their time studying yoga, being on quad skates and hanging at the skate park with their kids, cooking, and exploring green spaces in Milwaukee County. Heather is a twice divorced single parent of 4 kids – if they can do it, so can you!!! Heather is available to offer healing services and peer inspired support for folks looking to complement their path towards wellness, health, and liberation
Are you a Peer Specialist who is interested in self-employment, sub-contracting and/or becoming an entrepreneur but the steps to making your entrepreneurial dreams come true feel like a mystery? Well, the workforce has asked and the WIPSEI was listening. We invite CPS/CPPS & Supervisor’s of CPS/CPPS to come join us on October 2022 Supervisor’s Community of Practice to learn more about what it means to be your own boss, the many pathways possible, and the possibilities afforded to those of us who want to take the leap into entrepreneurship. Our guest panelists are eager to share their lived experience, entrepreneurial knowledge, barriers to opportunities and the many rewards experienced throughout the self-employment journey. Additionally, we will explore their greatest motivations and what keeps them going during times of difficulty and/or lack of motivation. Most importantly, the guest panelists are committed to sharing how culture has shown up & how it continues to show up in presently, in their role as entrepreneurs. They will discuss how privilege, or lack thereof, has shown up & how they navigate these realities as they grow. Also, we hope to discuss how equity, diversity and inclusion shows up in their roles & the real challenges arise when we are all reaching for the same resources such as similar contracts, consulting and/or business opportunities other peers, who are likely friends, may be reaching for them too. We invite your curiosity, your questions , and we will be ready for a real, down to earth conversation about the realities of self-employment. Also, how to make self-employment a reality. We invite all who wish to participate, to register at the link below the panelists bios.
We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Thursday, November 10th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on November 17th, 2022. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.
This website 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.
September 2022 Supervisor’s CPS & CPPS Community of Practice
“Supervising Peer Specialists – A Mutual Experience” with Kurt Stapleton
September 22nd, 2022 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm CT
Facilitator: Kurt Stapleton
After battling with an opioid use disorder for nearly 10 years and making some poor choices in life, he began his recovery journey while in prison. Shortly after his wedding, he fell deeper into the darkness of the disease and was living hopelessly. One bad decision led to another and he wound up getting arrested for 2 counts of armed robbery of 2 pharmacies for painkillers. Kurt then received a 20-year sentence that included 5 yrs in prison and 15 years of extended supervision. Thankfully, he was granted the Earned Release Program while incarcerated. This is where he learned the tools to truly overcome the childhood traumas he endured. After being released from prison, he worked any job he could to be a productive member of the household and society. After a chance encounter at a coffee shop where he was talking about his recovery journey, he met a few people who were talking about recovery coaching and peer support specialists. As the universe was working out his path, Kurt found that he was being pulled in this direction for some reason and decided to pursue the CPS training and eventually became a CPS. This decision is one that ultimately changed his life and career path. One day, while sitting at his desk ordering air conditioner parts for his full-time job, he came across a full-time, salary position for a certified peer specialist. After talking to his wife, he took the job, and knowing he couldn’t possibly make enough money doing this alone, he chose to work part-time as a peer specialist as well. After working 2 jobs as a peer specialist, the organization was discussing opening up the peer specialist supervisor position. This was exactly what he needed at exactly the right time. Today, Kurt works as a peer supervisor and peer support at Chrysalis in a 50/50 role. Knowing full well what it means to have a supervisor understand what the peer specialist is dealing with, having the lived experience and first-hand knowledge of the daily struggles that come with this position, he is able to support his team members on another level than a clinician can. Having worked with some unsatisfactory supervisors in the past, he strives to be the best leader of the team that he can be.
Description:
This month’s Supervisors of CPS/CPPS Community of Practice will be focusing on “Supervising Peer Specialists – A Mutual Experience,” with Kurt Stapleton as our guest facilitator. This topic was chosen based on feedback we received from members of our workforce, and we hope that this discussion will provide valuable insights for all involved. We will be discussing one of peer support’s core values, mutuality, from a peer supervisor’s perspective. As a certified peer specialist who has grown into a supervisor of certified peer specialists, Kurt has a meaningful perspective to share on what mutuality looks like within an organization and in the supervisory role. Together, we will discuss power dynamics, how to advocate for mutuality on an organizational level. Join us, as we aim to deepen our understanding of this important peer value and how we can put it into practice, today!
We invite you to please fill out the evaluation survey link (click here) if you attended this community of practice gathering or if you watch the recording. The survey will close at 4:30pm on Thursday, October 6th. Certificates of Participation will be sent to those completing the evaluation form by 4:30pm on October 13th, 2022. No evaluation surveys will be accepted for CEH credit after the evaluation survey’s closing date/time.
This website 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.