By Monica E. Oss, Chief Executive Officer, OPEN MINDS
The integration of peer support into the health and human services continues. One of the most recent developments came on September 1, when Texas launched a peer support network for first responders. The new law creates a support system for police, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel facing mental health challenges.
The program is modelled after the existing Texas Law Enforcement Peer Network. The program provides access to peer-to-peer support services and to mental health professionals with first responder experience. First responders can request services via an app. And all services requested and provided are confidential. The Texas Division of Emergency Management will have the program up and running by March 2026.
In Maine, Sweetser opened SupportME, a peer support program for individuals with mental health and substance abuse challenges. The center provides walk-in access to recovery support and resources in a stigma-free environment, staffed entirely by people with lived experience.
Another example is the recent launch of the Hope Squad, a peer-driven mental health awareness and support program, now meeting weekly on the campus of Brigham Young University–Hawaii. In this model, the ‘peers’ are students trained to recognize signs of crisis and connect their peers to professional help.
Even Talkspace is adding peer support with their acquisition of Wisdo. Wisdo facilitates consumer access to trained peers with lived experience through an AI-powered platform. Consumers get access to group sessions and monthly check-ins with a coach. And in a sign of the times, the health plan CareSource is investing in a peer support organization, Radley Health. Radley is focused on peer support services for consumers with serious mental illnesses.
