News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Peer Support programs growing in Tennessee, with a recent state report indicating a milestone of over 1,000 peer recovery specialists.
Charity Perry is the Manager of the Peer Support Center at McMinnville’s Harmony House. She said she calls the news exciting as she can see the potential for even more growth in the industry.
“Mental health has this stigma attached to it and I think the more people who become involved, especially in a non-clinical role if we have people who are normalizing this,” Perry said.”It helps people to talk about it.”
Perry said peer recovery specialists wear many hats while helping to support those recovering with mental health and substance abuse issues. She said they help with exercise, gather in social events, and lend an ear for people to talk to.
Perry said right now her big push is to help folks in the under-30 age group. She said she wants to reach people earlier in hopes of giving them a better chance at addressing their mental health needs.
“From mental health and substance use treatment providers to crisis call centers, recovery courts, psychiatric hospitals, emergency departments, managed care organizations, and correctional settings, peers have become embedded and essential in so many sectors,” Lisa Ragan, TDMHSAS Director of Consumer Affairs and Peer Recovery Services said. “The demand for this training is proof of the momentum of this movement and growing realization among employers and payors that peers add real value.”
Perry said before she got into this job, she did not have a large awareness about the work. She said as she started learning and as a person with mental illness, it is beneficial to share lived experiences with one another to help each other along in support.
