N.A.P.S. is continuing to raise funds through our ‘Future of Peer Support,’ campaign! This week we’re highlighting the importance of maintaining the integrity of the peer movement. The peer support movement has a long history in the U.S. reaching back decades, long before certification and Medicaid billing were priorities. With roots in the mad liberation, consumer, survivor, ex-patient, disability justice, and civil rights movements, peer support was originally focused on bodily autonomy, legitimizing lived experience, and reclaiming and re-imagining human experiences of distress. Over time, that focus has shifted towards professionalization and systemic integration. Oftentimes this has meant intentionally omitting our history and diluting the purposeful drive to create alternative approaches to supporting people navigating sometimes distressing human experiences. At N.A.P.S. we are committed to preserving and protecting the integrity of the historical peer movement including its values, focus on human rights, and resistance to systemic co-optation and assimilation. We intend to move forward centering these important tenets in the work we do, the way we show up, and our national priorities, and we’d love to have you join us. If you’d like to help us protect the integrity of the peer support movement, we invite you to donate to the National Association of Peer Supporters today! Click this link to donate: https://peersupportworks.org/donate/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=2024_year_end_fundraiser&utm_content=integrity_peer_movement&sf_campaign_id=701Un00000Fnw8iIAB (fb)

N.A.P.S. is continuing to raise funds through our ‘Future of Peer Support,’ campaign! This week we’re highlighting our work around workforce development. Beginning with our founding in 2004 the National Association of Peer Supporters has played an important role in shaping the development of the peer workforce across the United States. In collaboration with members, and state and national partners, N.A.P.S. has influenced the growth of the workforce for the past 20 years, and continues to do so today. One of our proudest accomplishments is the co-creation of the National Practice for Peer Supporters ( https://www.peersupportworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/nationalguidelines_updated.pdf ) in 2013, which were later revised in 2019 as the National Practice Guidelines for Peer Specialists and Supervisors ( https://www.peersupportworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/National-Practice-Guidelines-for-Peer-Specialists-and-Supervisors-1.pdf ). These documents continue to serve as cornerstones to a variety of peer specialist certifications to this day. More recently, N.A.P.S. launched a Workforce Development Committee, on which members serve and help to shape our focus moving forward. This committee is currently contributing to forthcoming work around certification reciprocity, workers’ rights, and more. At N.A.P.S. we strongly believe that peer-run, peer-led organizations must be leading the way when it comes to workforce development. Help us protect the integrity of workforce development and champion its continued growth by donating to the National Association of Peer Supporters today! Click this link to donate: https://peersupportworks.org/donate/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=2024_year_end_fundraiser&utm_content=reclaiming_leadership&sf_campaign_id=701Un00000Fnw8iIAB (fb)