The community is sick. We need to make mental health available to the those who need it. When they have access, it equips us as a community to be healed. That is why peer support is so important as the first piece to the puzzle to prevent mental illness. -Mrs. Eddie Woolfolk
The Vision made Reality
Mrs. Eddie has worked for this community since 1988. She has seen as time went on, the mental health of the community was one of many missing pieces to the puzzle of how to help and heal the community in the Historic Five Points black community of Denver. If there is something in place to get them started in the right direction, maybe the next generation will be searching for support to prevent further mental illnesses; and concentrate on the health of their mental before mental illnesses develop.
COSC has started a pilot program for Peer Support Specialist with AARP staff being the audience of choice with their life skills and wisdom. Our goal is to provide training for those who wish to help others obtain a home and independence from challenging circumstances and be certified to make a difference. We asked participants from the training that were willing to share their feedback on what they received from the training and here is what they said:
Al Smith said: "Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks," as he laughed after he received his certificate. "I learned a specific strategy to be slow to anger, not allowing my emotions to get ahead of me. That approaching difficulties (namely potentially explosive situations) with a spirit of calm can lead to better outcomes."
Eric Rozelle, as you see in the photo above, knew the importance of the class because of his perseverance and determination despite outside circumstances. He processed so much while actively listening, participating, and asking questions that were meaningful to his learning. That is an example of a true peer support specialist: to be there for those around them despite opposing situations.
Sandra Hunter said: "The thing I learned that caught my eye is empathy and sympathy. I really didn't know there was a difference between empathy and sympathy, and I had more empathy than sympathy. I also learned about mentor and mentee; what we can control and what we can't. The teacher explained all of that. I loved the class, and it was a very good four week of learning. I really enjoyed it."
“Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?”
Doris Knight explained: "The class we took during the week of October 16 through November 7 was very informative.
We learned the difference between emotions and empathy, compassion, and relationships.
Relationships and our part and how we can apply these principles to the people that we see in our everyday lives.
How to apply empathy. Really listening to understand where they are coming from. Also, boundaries and bravery.
And tools to help with the work.
Self-care is taking care of oneself. Doing the things you should do for yourself, pampering yourself."
Ramona Fox stated: " I had a chance to attend a training session regarding peer support. I learned the difference between empathy and sympathy and when talking with others how to respond properly [regarding the two, empathetically or sympathetically]. I also learned how important it is to listen, to really be in tune to what the person is saying. It is a daily learning experience to use what we learned in the training. I am so grateful to have the chance to attend.
Self-care: you can't care for others if you can't take care of yourself."
What is to Come?
The training was entry level to determine how the COSC AARP staff participants thought about doing a position in the mental health field. They provided great feedback that not only gives our team better insight on peer support specialists, are able to be anyone at any age, but this training can be used on a daily basis within the team and the families. Understanding that life experiences can be the forefront of supporting individuals in the community, especially those who feel they have lost hope and believe there is no way out or that no one understands what they are going through. We can see the impact of the peer support team we currently have in place at Charity's House New Apartments with the clients residing in the building because of the stories we hear.
Due to the pilot program being a success, we are still in the process in developing the program with a new cohort in 2025 so the participants who wish to continue their education to become certified to go out into the field once their training is complete. The goal is to have various partnership organizations that will provide the clinical hours while we continue to supply the supervision and education to prepare for the certification exam. The hope is to also provide training to other staffing organizations. This is a ministry to heal and deliver; we are so thankful to see changes made possible.
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