Mprc member organizations
What is peer support
Peer support encompasses a range of activities and interactions between people who share a living experience with mental health concerns and other co-occurring challenges. Peer support offers a level of acceptance, understanding, and validation not found in many other professional relationships (Mead & McNeil, 2006). It promotes connection and inspires hope.
By sharing their own lived experience and practical guidance, peer support workers help people to develop their own goals, create strategies for self-empowerment, and take concrete steps towards building fulfilling, self-determined lives for themselves.
“Progress Only Occurs when People Make Demands”
Paulo del Vecchio is a person in long-term recovery from mental health and addictions, who has been a leader in the peer recovery movement for 40 years. He recently completed a 30-year career at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, where he served in multiple roles including the director of the Center for Mental Health Services and the founding director of the Office of Recovery.
Paolo is now an independent advocate, working to advance recovery-oriented policies and practices on national and international levels.
In this interview, he speaks with Mad in America’s Leah Harris about his roots as a housing justice activist to his decades of public service at SAMHSA, what worries him most about mental health in today’s America, and where he sees hope in the recovery movement that he helped create.
Listen to full podcast episode here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/progress-only-occurs-when-people-make-demands-paolo/id1212789850?i=1000711126800
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A full transcript of this interview can be found here: https://www.madinamerica.com/2025/06/progress-only-occurs-when-people-make-demands-paolo-del-vecchio/
Peers to higher education program
Wayne State University program helps peer support specialist pursue higher ed in mental health
For the past two years, the Wayne State University (WSU) School of Social Work's Peers to Higher Education program has been helping peer support specialists to pursue college education in behavioral health. Peer support specialists are non-clinical health professionals employed in behavioral health settings to work with people diagnosed with mental health or substance use disorders. They have lived experience with recovery from mental illness or substance use disorders as well as formal training.
Peers to Higher Education Project Manager Larry West, a former peer support specialist, serves as a liaison between the university and community mental health agencies (CMHs) in the region, who employ peer support specialists. He helps the CMHs develop practicum experiences for peer support specialists seeking higher education and helps their peer support specialists with the college application process, securing financial aid, finding child care, and overcoming other barriers. The program also provides stipends and internships to help these non-traditional students with the costs of going back to school.
See full article here: https://www.secondwavemedia.com/features/peersupport03042024.aspx
hill days 2025
Members of MPRC attended Hill Days in Washington D.C. with the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery (NCMHR). Peer supporters from around the country met with state representatives to have conversations around peer support and mental health needs.
Board members Braunwynn Franklin, Ann Monroe, and Johanna Nicolia-Adkins, met with senior staff from Congressman Timothy Walberg, Bill Huinzenga. Jack Bergman.
The National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery (NCMHR) had three public policy priorities presented, along with some legislative agendas.
01. Funding Peer Support Services: A Critical National Workforce Solution
02. Building Community-Based Mental Health and Substance Use Services
03. Funding Employment Services for People with Disabilities
Legislation supporting the “Peer Support Act,” Senate bill 1319 and House bill 2741 (S. 1319/H.R. 2741) was presented as well. This critical, bipartisan bill would strengthen and expand peer support services across the nation by recognizing the vital role of peer support in promoting recovery, preventing unnecessary institutionalization, and reducing reliance on costly emergency services.
Peers attended meetings at the end of the day as well as met with guest speakers. Jennifer Mathis from Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law discussed possible effects of the proposed Budget Reconciliation Act as well as proposed reductions to the Health and Human Services budget.
The whole experience was rewarding, but we still have a lot of work to do. NCMHR is already making plans for Hill Days 2026. The goal is to increase participation and awareness that recovery is possible.
For more information on the National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery’s three public policy priorities, visit: https://www.ncmhr.org/
