Does anyone have a peer support specialist in their life for support? How much have they helped?
Never knew they had those. Maybe I will bug someone about it if this thread turns out they are positive.
hi! I had one for about three years! He was a “peer support specialist” but he was also like my case manager, kind of. He was kind of like the middle man between myself and the “system.” He was especially helpful when I’d get really frustrated with the housing thing, he’d let me vent and then go do homework about what programs were available for people like me. Sometimes, he’d call me out of the blue just to ask what was going on. He was invaluable to me, but maybe I just got really lucky with him!
He got me forms, figured out the procedures for stuff like the disability thing, work help, school help, he found me a that Eli-Lily Reintegration scholarship (never applied though), found me potential housing openings for chronic sz’s…stuff like that.
To be honest, I kind of miss having that one-stop person who knew the ins and outs. Now I don’t have a peer support spec. because my city says I’m not “urgent” anymore.
I was just asked to be a peer support specialist by my doctor. She is taking care of all the legalities, then she will assign me to someone. I’m very excited to start.
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How cool! The thought has crossed my mind to see if I could become one, someday. Here we’d call them experience experts. In my country I’d need lots of education to become one though. Not sure if I’m up for that. And also, I may not have all the relevant experience, for instance, I was never hospitalized.
That’s exciting that you’ll go out and help other people with their problems. Here in San Diego they’re becoming more and more available. I took a class here called peer employment training at RI International. I’d love to go help people with sz so that they don’t have to go all the crap I went through as a sz sufferer. Good luck!