Peer Support
Peer Supporters have personal experience with disabilities, and work with others alone and in small groups to seek solutions and better independent living options. Peer support engages people to serve as a role model, mentor, teacher, or maybe just a friend. This core service is linked to the belief that people with disabilities are the experts about their challenges and needs. The support of a peer is often more powerful than that of a credentialed professional who is not presently living with a disability.
Peer Supporters promote the self-determination and personal responsibility inherent in self directed goal setting and achievement. Peer Supporters have contributed significantly to the growth and success of the Disability Action Center as advocates, board and staff members, independent contractors, and volunteers since the founding of the organization in 1994.
Peer Supporters Can...
- Listen
- Share firsthand knowledge about living with a disability
- Assist others in making informed, independent choices
- Share experiences, information, and strategies
- Lead a discussion about navigating attitudes and values that impede personal growth
- Offer solutions to barriers, obstacles, and problems