Peer Support Archives - National Wraparound Initiative (NWI)

New Research Article on Peer Support for Youth and Young Adults

February 4, 2024 | NWI

This free, full-text article on the Pathways website describes a research study focused on peer support for young people experiencing serious mental health conditions. The article details a new theory that shows how and why one-on-one peer support produces positive outcomes for young people receiving peer support. The article also outlines key skills that peer support specialists use to enhance the likelihood of positive outcomes.

Read the article »

Wellness Best Practices for Parent Peer Support Partners

January 8, 2024 | NWI

This brief document outlines best practices, strategies and considerations for supervising parent peer support partners and promoting their wellness and self-care.

Read the document »

Research Update: Peer Support for Youth and Young Adults

September 23, 2022 | NWI

This brief report summarizes recently-published research relevant to peer support for youth and young adults who experience serious mental health conditions.

Read the report »

New Research on Peer Support in Wraparound

May 13, 2022 | NWI

This new article, published in Psychiatric Services, reports on a study that investigated a skills enhancement and role clarification training intervention for young adult peer support specialists (YPSSs) in Wraparound. The results showed gains in YPSSs’ skills and confidence in providing person-centered planning to the young people they worked with as well as reduced job-related anxiety and high training satisfaction.

Read the abstract »

Young Men of Color Present Their Research on Mental Health

February 24, 2022 | NWI

A cohort of Black and brown men 21 years and younger, undertook research based on the premise that they are best equipped to research their own community’s experience with mental health and make recommendations for effective change. The researchers conducted surveys, interviews and focus groups with peers about mental health.

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Increasing Engagement Of Fathers In Services Through Father-Specific Programming

February 8, 2021 | Maria Hermsen-Kritz

This webinar, from the Institute on Research and Poverty at University of Wisconsin, Madison, talks about how father-specific programming can enhance outcomes for children and families and highlights examples of such programming.

View the webinar recording here»

The Availability of Peer Support and Disparities in Outpatient Mental Health Service Use Among Minority Youth with Serious Mental Illness

August 3, 2020 | Maria Hermsen-Kritz

This study looked at whether the availability of peer support reduced disparities in use of outpatient mental health services among youth ages 16–24 with serious mental illness in Los Angeles and San Diego Counties. Researchers found that peer support was generally associated with an increase in use of outpatient mental health services among Black and Latinx youth.

Read more here»

FosterStrong, Media Platform For and By Foster Youth, To Launch This Week

May 28, 2020 | Maria Hermsen-Kritz

A new nonprofit led by those with lived experience in the foster care system, designed to share stories of those currently in foster care as well as alums, launched this week.

Read more here»

New Resource: Assessing Readiness to Become a Parent Peer Support Provider

July 12, 2016 | Emily Taylor

A new TA Network tip sheet produced by FREDLA is designed to help determine when a parent is ready to become a parent peer support provider (PPSP). The practical resource includes a list of qualifications and skills, as well as interview questions and links to other information.

Access the Parent Peer Support Provider Readiness Tip Sheet»

Locking Up Juvenile Offenders Doesn’t Work

June 10, 2015 |

According to a new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, reduced sentences and community-based treatments for juvenile offenders are more effective than incarceration. The report also presents research showing that lengthy stays for juvenile offenders in out-of-home settings, like a correctional center or residential facility, are expensive for governments and fail to reduce young offenders’ risk of recidivism, making for a poor return on investment.

Read the article and access the report today >>