Who better to support someone going through a difficult time than a person who has existed in their shoes? There is something to be said about the power behind someone saying, “I know what you are going through” and meaning it. This is where peers come in. For the purposes of this blog, peers refer to people with lived experience in drug use and homelessness who are supporting others going through those experiences. Peers may or may not currently be experiencing homelessness or using drugs.
At the end of the day, peers have lived experience in surviving difficult situations and societal stigma, as well as navigating nuances within the social serving sector. Both homelessness and drug use can leave a person feeling isolated, making them vulnerable to health issues, and limiting their ability to join the mainstream job market.
Throughout the research, peer employment emerges as a means of lowering barriers to employment for people with lived experience. In this sense, peer employment allows peers to get paid for using their lived experience to help others going through it or to have access to employment because of their experience. Peer work includes a spectrum of services, such as advocacy and program creation, coordination, implementation and management, as well as research and evaluation. Peer support has been a vital part of successful harm reduction strategies nationally and internationally, for example. It has led to an increase in self-esteem, social connection, and recovery stability.
It is that lived experience which allows those seeking support to feel connected and understood. In harm reduction strategies, for example, peers have had a key role in sharing information about safe practices, building a community of people who know about the services offered, and program implementation. Other opportunities for peer employment can include peer support roles at community health hubs, peer navigator roles at other social serving agencies or peer workers who facilitate capacity-building for others.
What can these opportunities look like? Some international examples of peer work include the Fix Und Fertig in Austria and De Stadsbrug in the Netherlands. On the one hand, the Fix Und Fertig is a social enterprise that promotes work re-integration for people who use drugs and alcohol. It offers daily work placements and longer-term contracts in the areas of renovation, serigraphy, and mailing. On the other, De Stadsbrug houses different firms that offer work placements and learning opportunities for people with a history of addictions. The firms work together in the areas of cleaning, bicycle repair, package delivery, running errands for the firms, and providing city tours. The idea is to give people the opportunity to acquire experience and a sense of stability.
For example, in Canada, different provinces have peer work initiatives. In British Columbia, Spikes on Bikes is a community-based organization that provides employment for peers. It facilitates needle-recovery, overdose response and training, as well as harm reduction supply distribution. In Ontario, the Regent Park Community Health Center hires peer workers to facilitate harm reduction initiatives. The program focuses on encouraging strong social networks, which have allowed it to grow exponentially.
It is by having access to peer workers that those experiencing homelessness and drug use can also experience hope. Through this relationship, they can have access to a person who knows what they are going through and the services they provide. At the same time, peers can feel a sense of purpose that allows them to thrive in a profession that creates stability in their lives. Finding ways to make peer employment a part of the mainstream job market means leveraging the knowledge and expertise of an otherwise especially vulnerable group.
Sources:
http://peerworkhub.com.au/the-case-for-peer-work/peer-work-unpacked-roles-and-functions/
http://www.regentparkchc.org/sites/default/files/files/RPCHCShiftingRolesPeerWorkFinalReport22.pdf
https://www.phs.ca/project/spikes-on-bikes/Who better to support someone going through a difficult time than a person who has existed in their shoes? There is something to be said about the power behind someone saying, “I know what you are going through” and meaning it. This is where peers come in. For the purposes of this blog, peers refer to people with lived experience in drug use and homelessness who are supporting others going through those experiences. Peers may or may not currently be experiencing homelessness or using drugs.
At the end of the day, peers have lived experience in surviving difficult situations and societal stigma, as well as navigating nuances within the social serving sector. Both homelessness and drug use can leave a person feeling isolated, making them vulnerable to health issues, and limiting their ability to join the mainstream job market.
Throughout the research, peer employment emerges as a means of lowering barriers to employment for people with lived experience. In this sense, peer employment allows peers to get paid for using their lived experience to help others going through it or to have access to employment because of their experience. Peer work includes a spectrum of services, such as advocacy and program creation, coordination, implementation and management, as well as research and evaluation. Peer support has been a vital part of successful harm reduction strategies nationally and internationally, for example. It has led to an increase in self-esteem, social connection, and recovery stability.
It is that lived experience which allows those seeking support to feel connected and understood. In harm reduction strategies, for example, peers have had a key role in sharing information about safe practices, building a community of people who know about the services offered, and program implementation. Other opportunities for peer employment can include peer support roles at community health hubs, peer navigator roles at other social serving agencies or peer workers who facilitate capacity-building for others.
What can these opportunities look like? Some international examples of peer work include the Fix Und Fertig in Austria and De Stadsbrug in the Netherlands. On the one hand, the Fix Und Fertig is a social enterprise that promotes work re-integration for people who use drugs and alcohol. It offers daily work placements and longer-term contracts in the areas of renovation, serigraphy, and mailing. On the other, De Stadsbrug houses different firms that offer work placements and learning opportunities for people with a history of addictions. The firms work together in the areas of cleaning, bicycle repair, package delivery, running errands for the firms, and providing city tours. The idea is to give people the opportunity to acquire experience and a sense of stability.
For example, in Canada, different provinces have peer work initiatives. In British Columbia, Spikes on Bikes is a community-based organization that provides employment for peers. It facilitates needle-recovery, overdose response and training, as well as harm reduction supply distribution. In Ontario, the Regent Park Community Health Center hires peer workers to facilitate harm reduction initiatives. The program focuses on encouraging strong social networks, which have allowed it to grow exponentially.
It is by having access to peer workers that those experiencing homelessness and drug use can also experience hope. Through this relationship, they can have access to a person who knows what they are going through and the services they provide. At the same time, peers can feel a sense of purpose that allows them to thrive in a profession that creates stability in their lives. Finding ways to make peer employment a part of the mainstream job market means leveraging the knowledge and expertise of an otherwise especially vulnerable group.
Sources:
http://peerworkhub.com.au/the-case-for-peer-work/peer-work-unpacked-roles-and-functions/
http://www.regentparkchc.org/sites/default/files/files/RPCHCShiftingRolesPeerWorkFinalReport22.pdf
https://www.phs.ca/project/spikes-on-bikes/