The Guilford Center graduates area’s first Peer Support Specialist employment training class
Transformation of Mental Health Care in the United States models the principle that individuals suffering from serious mental illness can attain recovery. The Guilford Center is among the first Local Management Entities in North Carolina to initiate a Peer Support Specialist (PSS) Employment Training Program. Paul Evans, Director of Provider Services, Kevin Koket, Manager of Adult Clinical Services, and Joe Fortin, Mental Health Services Supervisor, worked with Phoenix-based META Services to develop the PSS Program as an extension of Recovery Model Training that was introduced to The Guilford Center staff in October. The intensive 10-day course teaches recovering individuals how to assist other consumers in regaining control of their lives and their recovery processes.
According to Tara Hodge, Peer Employment Training Coordinator at The Guilford Center, “This training is an excellent opportunity for people with psychiatric experiences to take charge of their own recovery and then give back to their community by helping other individuals do the same. The PSS Training recognizes that there is no better person to inspire hope in an individual new to mental health recovery than someone who has walked the same path.”
In 2006, The Guilford Center will begin hiring Peer Support Specialists to provide a wide range of support services to the agency’s consumers. Qualifications for employment for these paid positions include: a diagnosed serious mental illness and a history of treatment with a mental health program, a high school diploma or GED, and successful completion of The Center’s PSS training.
The Guilford Center offered the first PSS training in November. The course was taught by Chris Martin, M.A. ED., E.D. Counseling, a Recovery Services Administrator with META Services. Eighteen graduates of the “Olympian Pioneers” class were honored in a ceremony held on Friday, December 9th at Grace United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall in Greensboro. Speakers at the event included Ida Glasgow, Deputy Director, and Paul Evans from The Guilford Center. Board President Sheron K. Sumner, Ph.D. presented the keynote address.