CROA is embarking on a significant initiative – creating a peer support system specifically designed for behavioral health co-responders. As an organization initially established to provide a support network for those of us working alongside first responders, CROA recognizes the vital role of peer support in this line of work. Many Fire and Police systems have their own formal peer support programs, and now it’s time for CROA to take this important step in formalizing peer support for behavioral health co-responders. Please read below to understand the two pronged approach we are taking to supporting behavioral health co-responders. 

Behavioral Health Co-response Peer Support Team

While most Fire, EMS and Police first responders have access to Peer Support, behavioral health co-responders have similar needs but no access to peers of their own. CROA in conjunction with UW is spearheading the creation of a statewide Peer Support Team pilot for behavioral health co-responders.

As such, we are looking for current behavioral health co-responders who are interested in becoming part of a Peer Support Team to provide support to any behavioral health co-responder working in Washington State. Peer support workers are volunteers who bring their own personal knowledge of working as front-line staff within co-responder programs in Washington State.  These positions will directly serve individual behavioral health and community health co-responder line staff needing support.  Support may include reflective listening and other types of emotional support as well as connection to professional resources. Peer support can help responders impacted by their work to cope, identify sources of support and help to connect responders to that support. The role of the Peer Support Team is to be available to other behavioral health co-responders who have short-term personal or professional needs and guide them to resources for longer term needs. Behavioral health co-responder Peer Support Team members will not provide therapy or counseling to their fellow co-responders. Instead, the goal is to be a listening ear, validate their experience, and then help them navigate to any longer-term support needs the person may have.

Structure:

The Peer Support Team will be made up of 10 peer support team members and one Peer Support Team Leader. The ideal team will include a mix of fire/EMS and police-based programs; rural and urban programs; and those directly employed by Fire/EMS/Police agencies and contracted employees from all over the state.   We are also looking for people available at a wide variety of times of day. There will be one central phone number that any behavioral health co-responder in Washington state can call to leave a voice mail. There will be a central calendar on which all Peer Support Team members will post their available hours. The Peer Support Team Leader will disseminate calls from the central number to the next available Peer Support Team member, or the most appropriate fit as needed. Individuals can also be referred to the Peer Support Team by their co-workers or supervisors. Peer Support Team members may be required to be available outside of their scheduled hours in order to ensure individuals are connected to appropriate resources.

CROA will provide each Peer Support Team member with:

Certified Peer Support Training and certification. The training will likely require 3-5 days to complete.

A VOIP phone number to use for peer support calls which can be turned into a virtual meeting at an individual’s request.

Regular supervision by the Peer Support Team Leader or as often as needed.

Requirements:

Currently be a behavioral health co-responder in Washington state.

Available for Peer Support calls 4-6 hours a month (including evenings and weekends), plus more as needed to support individuals in meeting their short-term needs.

Attend monthly Peer Support Team meetings.

Attend quarterly CROA Peer POV meetings.

Collect and share information with other Peer Support Team members.

Must have a personal cell phone (not a work provided phone) that supports the Zoom Workplace app.

Make a commitment to be on the team for a minimum of one year.

Peer Support Team members will be considered volunteers and will not receive financial compensation.

If you are interested, please send your resume, cover letter, and the below application questions to [email protected].

Please see application questions here.

Peer POV Meetings

We have created monthly virtual meetings to allow behavioral health co-responders and alternative responders to meet with one another and create shared space to discuss our struggles and successes. At this time we are inviting any behavioral health worker in Washington in the field of co-response or alternative response to join us for meetings. We anticipate opening this up in the future to include space for our first responder (Police/Fire/EMS) partners, but at this time are asking just for behavioral health workers to start with. Please watch this space for future meeting dates and links.