Peers Helping Peers to Recover

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Final Report

Welcome to Peer2Peer Wellness
(Formerly known as the Wellness Project)

Peer2Peer Wellness is a program that trains and matches volunteer peer supporters with inpatients at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. See “About Peer2Peer Wellness” below.

PSO offers a free 10-day training course in peer support that may be used for self-development and honing communication skills. Next training is from October 5 - November 4 2010. For more information or to register, contact Jackie at 613-567-4379 ext. 25 jackiepso@gmail.com or Werner 613-567-4379 ext. 26 wernerpso@gmail.com

About Peer2Peer Wellness
(Formerly known as the Wellness Project)

The goal of Peer2Peer Wellness is to assist people receiving inpatient mental health services to move into the community and build their own recovery with support from a peer experienced in the mental health system. Individuals who have experienced their own mental health challenges are trained in the philosophy of peer support and recovery, and patient rights in addition to the skills needed to provide support. Trained peer supporters and people awaiting support are then matched up, provided with a small honourarium to support their meetings and have access to a Peer Support Coordinator for additional assistance. Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) classes are available to both the peer and peer supporter to provide additional recovery tools.

About the Project

It began as a pilot project, funded through The Change Foundation in partnership with the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group (ROHCG) from November 2005 to October 2007 to study the effect of peer support and wellness plans on a person’s mental health recovery. (See the final report.) The project now receives ongoing funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care through the Champlain Local Health Integration Network.

Peer Support training is offered to current and ex-mental health service users in the Ottawa area. This 10-day course is led by trained PSO facilitators. There is a general Peer Helper level of training and a Peer Supporter level, which is more oriented to one-to-one Wellness Project peer support. Once trained, peer supporters are matched with an inpatient of the Royal Ottawa’s schizophrenia or mood disorders unit. These peer partnerships meet on a weekly basis, either at the hospital or in the community. In addition to providing an understanding ear and friendship, peer supporters can also assist their peer with developing a personal Wellness Recovery Action Plan. WRAP’s are essentially an individual and self-created plan to achieve and maintain wellness.

PSO and other partners in the community provide introductory courses on creating a personal WRAP for the peers, their peer supporters and the general community. To see available classes in the Champlain area click on the WRAP link in the sidebar.

The project will be evaluating the effects of peer support and WRAP on willing peer participants to see if and how it affects their hospitalization usage and general feeling of wellness. It is hoped that the positive benefits of peer support and wellness plans will result in less hospitalization and a more meaningful life for the participants.