In Oregon peer support has been widely promoted and accepted at a cost to the integrity of the values of mutuality and reciprocity. It is now so embedded in the hierarchy of the mental health system that it has lost a core part of its voice and values. Despite this wide acceptance the peer field still makes lower wages than other workers in the fields of care. So it has changed many lives for the better but is still reliant on worker exploitation and the stifling of radical voices in the peer movement. I was at a major peer conference last spring and brought up the issue of poverty and public policy and how socio economic factors of capitalism affect mental health. This was greeted with a pretty quick backlash/hostility as an off topic area to venture into but not by everyone. I also noticed the conference was dominated by 12 step models of recovery, though harm reduction still had a presence.
There's also a strange gatekeeping issue. I have discovered in both Washington and Oregon that agencies want applicants to already be licensed and have experience, yet to be accepted into trainings you have to already be employed or have a volunteer position. I've also noticed I've been weeded out of the hiring process for not holding a degree, which is antithetical to the point of the peer support movement. I have also had made amazing progress through harm reduction (after having been abused in a 12-step setting) and many agencies don't like that. I have done so much research and accessed free trainings on my own since the start of the pandemic. I wanted it so badly and to connect with the community in this day but I think I'm going to have to give up because I keep getting rejected. I fear the intentional peer support model is doomed, at least based on what I'm seeing in the prevailing Western medical model.
@@Toast_Life It's so frustrating to see someone with so much passion having a hard time finding a position. I hope that you find an open door at some point and the support you deserve.
In Oregon peer support has been widely promoted and accepted at a cost to the integrity of the values of mutuality and reciprocity. It is now so embedded in the hierarchy of the mental health system that it has lost a core part of its voice and values. Despite this wide acceptance the peer field still makes lower wages than other workers in the fields of care. So it has changed many lives for the better but is still reliant on worker exploitation and the stifling of radical voices in the peer movement. I was at a major peer conference last spring and brought up the issue of poverty and public policy and how socio economic factors of capitalism affect mental health. This was greeted with a pretty quick backlash/hostility as an off topic area to venture into but not by everyone. I also noticed the conference was dominated by 12 step models of recovery, though harm reduction still had a presence.
There's also a strange gatekeeping issue. I have discovered in both Washington and Oregon that agencies want applicants to already be licensed and have experience, yet to be accepted into trainings you have to already be employed or have a volunteer position. I've also noticed I've been weeded out of the hiring process for not holding a degree, which is antithetical to the point of the peer support movement. I have also had made amazing progress through harm reduction (after having been abused in a 12-step setting) and many agencies don't like that. I have done so much research and accessed free trainings on my own since the start of the pandemic. I wanted it so badly and to connect with the community in this day but I think I'm going to have to give up because I keep getting rejected. I fear the intentional peer support model is doomed, at least based on what I'm seeing in the prevailing Western medical model.
@@Toast_Life It's so frustrating to see someone with so much passion having a hard time finding a position. I hope that you find an open door at some point and the support you deserve.
Thank you, me too!