The Strength of Showing Up: How Peer Support Breaks the Mold of Traditional Care
My journey with firsthand began in February of 2023 as a Community Resources Guide, a social worker who helps connect individuals to services and benefits that they are eligible for. I previously worked to support individuals living with intellectual disabilities and in case management services within the community mental health sector. This experience laid the foundation for my deep commitment to those often left behind by traditional models of care.
The Challenges of Traditional Care Approaches
Traditional healthcare models often operate within the confines of what can be quantifiable, sometimes losing sight of the individual's holistic journey. This method can fail to capture the nuanced needs of individuals living with mental illness. Mental health cannot always be neatly boxed into observable milestones as we might see with physical health.
This perspective is deeply personal to me, shaped by my own struggles with depression and anxiety. During intensive times of major depression, simple acts of basic hygiene like a shower would hamper my functioning for the rest of the day. On the flip side, days of high anxiety had my brain telling me that I was useless and ineffective at everything. It would say that I should not even try to leave my house, much less organize an overwhelming trip to the grocery store. If I didn’t have kids to take care of, there are several years I am sure I wouldn’t have left the house at all.
These struggles were compounded by experiences within healthcare systems that often felt dismissive or ill-equipped to truly listen, leaving me feeling invisible and alone. Combined with the harsh voices in my head, I was led to believe that I wasn’t worth investing in. At the first sign of a doctor not listening or not taking me seriously, I would shut down- unable to speak up and advocate for myself.
Mental health struggles can distort our perceptions, making us believe we are unworthy of care or attention. The healthcare system, with its focus on efficiency and quotas, often felt like an arena where my voice was lost among many. It led me to skip appointments, if I even called my doctor in the first place. It’s exhausting to tell your story, over and over, and risk the rejection of a practitioner who is pushed for time, has a preconceived impression of you from your records, or is just having a bad day themselves.
These experiences, while deeply painful, served as a catalyst for my dedication to advocating for a more compassionate and inclusive approach to mental health care—one that recognizes the unique journey of each individual. The realization that my struggles were not solitary, but shared by many, propelled me to embrace the peer support model. A peer is someone who has lived experience of serious mental illness, as well as the many challenges that come with it, such as homelessness, substance use, incarceration, and trauma. This approach is not just about offering help; it's a mutual exchange of understanding, empathy, and empowerment.
The Transformative Power of Peer Support
For those who find it difficult to engage in traditional case management and treatment models, a peer-based model can be a lifeline. Peers aren’t perfect, but they know how it feels to fall through the cracks and can walk beside our individuals on their journey to recovery. They support individuals in learning how to advocate for themselves and give them space to recover when they are having a hard time. Peers can be an effective translator for their needs with the services they are attempting to use, such as social needs, community resources, medicine or mental health care. It reinforces our own recovery, reminding us to walk our talk and maintain the steps needed to be faithful to our own journey.
With the support of peers, I have seen multiple individuals begin to answer the phone when they didn’t want to, knowing that someone understanding was on the other line. They start keeping their provider appointments because a peer invested the time to seek them out and let them know they matter. Because our teams let people know they matter, there are individuals alive today who wouldn’t be otherwise.
An Inclusive Journey
At firsthand, every role contributes to an individual’s journey towards better mental health – from data processing to medical support and leadership. Our collective efforts create a network of support, embodying the belief that everyone deserves to be seen, heard, and never feel alone. Our team supported an individual who has since passed, but the last thing she said to me was, “thank you for caring about what happens to me.”
The peer model is not an alternative; it's a necessary complement to traditional care, breaking through barriers with empathy, understanding, and a shared experience of resilience. Through peer support, we can manifest a future where every individual feels empowered to advocate for their well-being, supported by a community that champions mental health care as a right, not a privilege. Because when we care, we don't just change lives—we save them.
