Building Culturally Accessible Peer Support Services in your Community
Sue Martone Assistant Director Office of Behavioral Health Allegheny County Department of Human Services
Dr. Kim Mathos Assistant Professor of Psychiatry UPMC
Certified Peer Specialists (CPS) are people with lived experience in the behavioral health system (mental health or addiction) who use their experiences to assist other Individuals with a history of mental health or addiction to attain or enhance skills to support their own recovery.
Individuals with lived experience must complete a 2-week training and pass an exam to become a Certified Peer Specialist in Pennsylvania.
When an individual who seeks the service shares the same language and cultural background the service is much more effective and enduring.
This fall in Pittsburgh, three Deaf people received the two-week training to become a Certified Peers Specialists. The training was conducted by Mental Health Partnerships. The Allegheny County Office of Behavioral Health supported the cost of the American Sign Language interpreters for the training. The Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation funded the tuition for each of the attendees.
We look forward to watching this service develop to serve our Deaf community. We encourage other communities to advocate for such collaborative work to advance mental health recovery options for their Deaf community members.