Peer Support and Response in Times
of Disaster Roundtable Meeting 

Coordinated by leadership from the Center for Mental Health Services’ National GAINS Center and the Howie T. Harp Peer Advocacy Center, the After the Crisis Initiative (ATC) sponsored a two-day Peer Support and Response Roundtable meeting on January 25th & 26th in New York City.  The purpose of this meeting was to follow-up on recommendations made by the ATC Expert Panel and continue the work of the ATC Peer Support Committee by bringing together national consumer leaders and advocacy organizations to develop a set of core principles that would guide the development of a national disaster peer support and response training curriculum, outline core modules and content for the curriculum, and discuss strategies for supporting its delivery and providing infrastructure support to states, localities and consumer organizations once trained.  Stakeholder organizations that participated in this meeting included:

• CMHS National GAINS Center
• Howie T. Harp Peer Advocacy Center
• Mental Health Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania
• National Empowerment Center
• Consumer Organization & Networking Technical Assistance Center (CONTAC)
• Boat People SOS
• Oklahoma Mental Health Consumer Council
• Meaningful Minds Louisiana
• New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS)
• Mental Health Empowerment Project
• The SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center

Peers are often the most effective engagement tool in a community of often marginalized citizens, with peer support often being the only modality available to effectively address the needs of people with mental illness in times of disaster.  Among participants, consensus was reached on the following core principles:  (1) services should be peer-run and embrace the concept of mutual support; (2) training should promote practices and strategies that are trauma-informed, culturally and linguistically sensitive, and which create recovery-oriented environments; (3) peer response should have the capacity to provide linkage to necessary services; (4) peer responders should be integrated members of local and state-level disaster response plans, working in partnership with mental health and other relief organizations; and (5) peer response training must also focus on prevention by emphasizing both individual/family preparedness and community disaster preparedness.

The After the Crisis Initiative

Disaster response systems, much like the mental health system often reinforce the person’s belief that they cannot do for themselves. The impact of disaster and the impact of the disabling aspects of a mental illness can often create total inability to care for one’s self/family/community.  Resources for self-direction can be limited or non-existent.  Stigma replaces sympathy.  Both victims of disaster and persons with mental illness begin to be seen as the problem as supporters and resources run out.  This increases pre-existing issues of substance abuse, crime, hopelessness and helplessness as well as creates a new class of disempowered and disenfranchised people—evacuee populations.

The urgent need for the After the Crisis Initiative was highlighted by the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in communities all along the Gulf Coast.  The key activities of the initiative are focused on the development of technical assistance strategies and support networks that are dedicated to addressing the long term mental health and trauma needs of disaster survivors.

Directed by leadership from the CMHS National GAINS Center, the ATC Initiative has formed a working consortium, the activities of which are targeted toward creating change and building disaster response capacity.  The Initiative’s network is comprised of a broad array of experts, many of whom are trauma survivors and have had personal experience with disaster in their communities.  Collectively, membership of the initiative includes representatives from the community, state and national levels.  The ATC Initiative has formed a Peer Support/Response Committee, which is focused on developing individual and community-level support strategies to increase community disaster response capacity.  The goal of the ATC Peer Support/ Response Committee is to foster recovery by establishing productive  communication, building long lasting effective relationships and to develop a peer support/response curriculum to promote “peers helping peers” for people who have experienced traumatic events and retraumatization during and after times of disasters

For additional information about the ATC Initiative, please visit the webpage by linking to http://www.gainscenter.samhsa.gov/atc, or by contacting Noel Thomas, Project Coordinator at 518-439-7415, Ext. 280, E-mail:  nthomas@prainc.com