Consumer Driven Services

Directory of Consumer Driven Services
Program Information
Program Name: NAMI San Gabriel Valley Peer-to-Peer Educational Program
Agency Name: National Alliance on Mental Illness
Year the Program was Started: 1996
Address: NAMI San Gabriel Valley Peer-to-Peer Program
2550 E. Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107
Telephone #: 626.577.6697
Fax #: 626.577.0381
Email Address: sgvnami@pacificclinics.org
Website URL: www.sgv.nami.org
Program Category: Advocacy, Peer Support, Recovery Education
Target Participants:

Program Setting:
Program Owned or Leased Facility (leased store front, community residence)
Annual Program Budget: Under $10,000
Number of staff: Paid Full-Time: None
Paid Part-Time: 3-5
Volunteers: 3-5
Consumer involvement in the program
Program Name: Peer to Peer
Agency Name: NAMIOC National Alliance on Mental Illness Orange County
Year the Program was Started: 2002
Public Contact Person: Shannon Peterson
Address: 1810 E 17th St
Santa Ana, CA 92705
Telephone #: 714-544-8488 x112
Fax #: 714-544-0791
Email Address: speterson@namioc.org
Website URL: www.namioc.org
Program Category: Advocacy, Recovery Education
Target Participants:

Program Setting:
Borrowed Space (church, school, community center)
Annual Program Budget: $10,000-$40,000
Number of staff: Paid Full-Time: None
Paid Part-Time: 1-2
Volunteers: 5-10
Consumer involvement in the program
Number of staff members and volunteers who are consumers: Majority
How often do consumer staff and volunteers participate in program decisions? Usually
Number of administrators or board members who are consumers: Some
Program Training/ Technical Assistance Materials Available: Training curricula, Individual training, Program brochure, Guides/Manuals, Website
Cost for materials? No
Program Goals: To establish and maintain mental wellness.
Have any outcomes for this program been assessed through internal or external research? Yes
If Yes, details: U. of Md.
Program Mission Statement: Offer an opportunity for growth regardless of individual stage. Promote awareness, provide information, and offer opportunities to reflect on the impact of mental illness and the potential for recovery in each participant's life.
Additional Information: Peer to Peer is a free, nine week - two hours a week - educational course on recovery taught by three trained mentors who are personally experienced at living well with a mental illness.




Program Name: Peer to Peer
Agency Name: NAMI San Diego
Year the Program was Started: 2003
Public Contact Person: Devin Eshelman
Address: 4480 30th St.
San Diego, CA 92116
Telephone #: 619-398-8557
Fax #: 619-584-5569
Email Address: devineshelman@namisd.org
Website URL: www.namisandiego.org/
Program Category: Advocacy, Community Education, Recovery Education
Target Participants:

Program Setting:
Borrowed Space (church, school, community center)
Annual Program Budget: Under $10,000
Number of staff: Paid Full-Time: None
Paid Part-Time: 1-2
Volunteers: 5-10
Consumer involvement in the program
Number of staff members and volunteers who are consumers: Majority
How often do consumer staff and volunteers participate in program decisions? Usually
Number of administrators or board members who are consumers: Majority
Program Training/ Technical Assistance Materials Available: Training curricula, Individual training, Guides/Manuals
Cost for materials? No
Program Goals: Peer to Peer is a consumer recovery education program that is taught by peers who have been trained to be Mentors through NAMI National's curriculum.
Have any outcomes for this program been assessed through internal or external research? No
Additional Information: Peer to Peer is a nine week- 2 hours per week-experiental education course on the topic of recovery for any person with serious mental illness who is interested in establishing and maintaining wellness. The course uses a combination of lecture, interactive exercises and structured group processes, and the diversity of experience among course participants allows a lively dynamic that moves the course along.



Program Name: California Network of Mental Health Clients
Year the Program was Started: 1984
Public Contact Person: Sally Zinman
Address: 2012 19th Street, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95818
Telephone #: 800-626-7447
Fax #: (916) 443-4089
Email Address: main@californiaclients.org
Website URL: www.californiaclients.org
Program Category: Advocacy, Community Education, Other
Target Participants:

Program Setting:
Program Owned or Leased Facility (leased store front, community residence)
Annual Program Budget: $200,000-$400,000
Number of staff: Paid Full-Time: 3-5
Paid Part-Time: 5-10
Volunteers: 5-10
Consumer involvement in the program
Number of staff members and volunteers who are consumers: All
How often do consumer staff and volunteers participate in program decisions? Always
Number of administrators or board members who are consumers: All
Program Training/ Technical Assistance Materials Available: Program brochure, Website
Cost for materials? Sometimes
Program Goals: To empower clients of the mental health system through self-help groups and networking statewide. To confront discriminating attitudes about mental health clients in the public, the media, the mental health system, and within mental health clients themselves. To provide a strong voice of, by and for mental health clients; to be heard on all issues concerning clients and public policies affecting them in the government, the media, and the community. To promote and instill the rights of clients in and out of treatment situations, with special attention to the right to freedom of choice. To provide every possible reasonable accommodation to enable persons with a psychiatric disability to work; and provide a range of employment opportunities from subsidized pre-vocational training to on the job skills development through to employment comparable to non-disabled individuals in similar positions.
Have any outcomes for this program been assessed through internal or external research? No
Program Mission Statement: The California Network of Mental Health Clients is very active, focusing on self-help public policy, cultural competency. The activities are centered both regionally and statewide, as mandated by the clients of the state in an organizational plan. Regionally, each of the five Regions has developed a self-help project. The members of each region selected their project at the regional meetings held in May or June. The CNMHC continues active statewide and regional participation in the following areas: • Self-help and Mutual Support Groups • Public Education and Policy • Cultural Competency and Sensitivity • Membership Outreach and Networking • Employment and Career Development Each of five (5) Regions have developed self-help projects within the areas of Self-Help and Mutual Support; Public Education and Policy; Cultural Competency and Sensitivity; Membership Outreach and Networking; and Employment and Career Development.
Additional Information: Self help projects for 2005/2006 Far South Region: Client Empowerment Training. Train clients to represent the client voice in policy making as representatives on committees and as speakers. South Region: Stigma and Discrimination Educational Project. Bay Area Region: Development and Training on the Client Anti-Discrimination Message. Central Valley Region: Medicare Part D Training Project. Far North Region: Peer Training Project. The Public Education and Policy Project: Produces CNMHC News Alerts Researches and then informs and educates about pressing mental health related issues; Develops and Implements the California Memorial Project (CMP) Holds an Annual Day at the Capitol for California’s clients, including information sharing and education. Aggressively assures that clients are represented at all levels of the mental health system, planning, implementation and oversight; Promotes maximum and meaningful involvement of clients locally and statewide in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the Mental Health Services Act. The Cultural Competency Project Conducts a Diversity Outreach and Inclusion project in collaboration with three other advocacy organizations. Develops two (2) issues of the CNMHC\'s Newsletter, the Cal Net Gazette. The Trainee Program: will provide work and work training opportunities within the CNMHC office Office of Self Help/ Technical assistance and Support Center provides training and technical support for self help development for client communities and the mental health community in general. Hold a statewide Client Forum







Advocacy

Advocacy organizations vary in focus. Some help individuals get what they need from mental health and other systems or providers. Others focus on creating change and shifting resources at the local level to better serve consumers and the public. Many work to counter the effects of stigma and discrimination such as NIMBYism (Not-in-My-Back-Yard) and sensationalist media coverage that reinforce negative stereotypes of people with mental illnesses. Still others seek to move governmental systems forward and support civil rights through legislative or policy advocacy. Many organizations and individuals do several of these.


Clubhouse

A clubhouse is a structured rehabilitation program focusing on developing vocational skills. Participants are members of the clubhouse and are involved in many decisions and in day-to-day operations of the clubhouse. Many clubhouses have paid staff members who are consumers. The International Center for Clubhouse Development oversees certification of clubhouses that follow the “Clubhouse Model” pioneered by Fountain House in New York City.



Community Education

Many mental health consumers are involved in efforts to educate the community at large about mental health issues, in an effort to reduce stigma and discrimination and to inform people about the availability of services. Often, these efforts rely on people sharing their personal experiences with mental illness.



Crisis Prevention/Respite

A common goal of consumer-delivered services is to reduce hospitalizations and the use of emergency services. Some services seek to prevent people from reaching the crisis stage. For example, “warm lines” offer a supportive voice to people who are not in crisis and for whom a hot line would be inappropriate. Other services are designed to help people approaching or experiencing crises. Examples include crisis response teams that have consumer staff and respites, which on a voluntary basis provide a supportive environment as an alternative to hospitalization.



Drop-in Center

A drop-in center provides a welcoming environment for mental health consumers, as well as a wide range of activities, including support groups, recreational and social events, and linkages with support services. For more information about drop-in centers, see the Clearinghouse technical assistance guide on the topic.



Employment

In many programs, consumer staff members provide employment supports that enable clients to choose, get, and keep jobs. Examples include resume preparation, benefits counseling, job readiness, skills development, computer training, and job coaching.



Homeless Outreach

Outreach to consumers who are homeless can help link them with mental health services, health care, housing, and other supports, but mistrust of the system often poses a barrier to successful outreach. Some outreach programs employ formerly homeless consumers, whose personal experience can help to build trusting relationships.



Housing

Consumer staff members are employed by housing providers, including housing that is part of a more comprehensive service program. Consumer staff members also provide housing-related services, ranging from assistance in finding and securing housing, to providing supportive services.



Peer Case Management

In many areas, consumers are employed to provide case management services, and published studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of consumer case management teams.


Peer Companion

Recognizing that friendships and social relationships are key to recovery, some programs involve matching people with similar interests who spend significant amounts of time together in a supportive relationship. Often, volunteers and staff are themselves consumers.




Peer Support & Peer Counseling

In peer support programs, consumer staff members receive extensive training in critical areas such as benefits acquisition, goal planning, and self-care. However, unlike traditional case management services, the peer counselor’s own recovery experience is central to the relationship with clients, through shared experience and mentorship.



Recovery Education

Some programs have as their focus training people how to take personal responsibility for recovery through techniques and plans. These educational programs can take the form of intensive training retreats or ongoing classes. Often, participants have the opportunity to join ongoing support groups.



Recreation/Arts

In addition to traditional services and supports, recovery and a meaningful life in the community require opportunities for relaxation, socializing, and fun, and recreational programs help to fill this need. Art programs can also provide opportunities for self-expression, and some programs even help consumers sell their artwork.


Support Group

Throughout the world, support groups meeting on a regular basis offer opportunities for mutual support at little cost. Some groups follow well-established models, while others operate based solely on the input of group members.



Technical Assistance

To foster the growth of consumer-delivered services, state and national organizations offer technical assistance to programs and groups at the local level, as well as helping individuals start new services.