Ontario Peer Development Initiative and Peer Support
Ontario Peer Development Initiative (OPDI) is an organization of organizations; mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) and Peer Support Organizations (PSOs) across Ontario. These organizations are run by and for people with lived experience of a mental health and/or addiction issue. CSIs and PSOs provide a wide range of services and activities within their communities. No two are the same, but all approach their activities from the common understanding that people can and do recover with the proper supports in place, and that peer support is integral to successful recovery. Most CSIs and PSOs collaborate within local mental health systems to bring the consumer voice to service planning, delivery and evaluation, and provide direct informal or formal peer support and self-advocacy support to individuals. A listing of OPDI member organizations can be found at http://opdi.org/members.html. These organizations, together and individually, comprise Ontario’s developers, thought leaders and experts on the subject of peer support.
OPDI will be providing the qualified training and materials for the Peer Support Coordinators involved in this project. Participating CSIs and PSOs will be coordinating the Peer Support Volunteers who will be matched with the patients being discharged. The Peer Support Coordinators will have access to OPDI materials and trainer training to train the Peer Support Volunteers.
Collectively, the CAHO community, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care has funded six ARTIC Projects:
CSI and PSO across Ontario that are participation in this project include:
- Can-voice (London)
- Mental Health Support Network South East Ontario (Kingston)
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Internal Peer Support (Toronto)
- People Advocating for Change through Empowerment (Thunder Bay)
- Psychiatric Survivors of Ottawa
- Peer Support Services (Hamilton)
- Connect for Mental Health Inc. (London)
- CMHA Durham (Whitby)
- Krasman Centre (Richmond Hill)
OPDI defines peer support as follows:
Peer Support is a naturally occurring, mutually beneficial support process, where people who share a common experience meet as equals, sharing skills, strengths and hope; learning from each other how to cope, thrive and flourish. Formalized Peer Support begins when persons with lived experience who have received specialized training, assume unique, designated roles within the mental health system, to support an individual’s expressed wishes. Specialized Peer Support training is Peer developed, delivered and endorsed by Consumer/Survivor Initiatives*, Peer Support Organizations* and Patient Councils, and is rooted in principles of recovery, hope
*Consumer Survivor Initiatives and Peer Support Organizations are community-based, self-help organizations run by and for consumer/survivors. This definition of peer support was developed through the focus group/workshop/piloting process of creating the OPDI Peer Support Core Essentials™ Program. A draft was work shopped in a member consultation in 2010, further refined by a member working group, then adopted by electronic vote of the membership. We welcome and encourage you to use or reference this definition or provide links to this page, providing that OPDI is credited and the definition is provided unedited and in its entirety.