Resources: People with Lived Experience/Peers

Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) Resource Center

Provides training and technical assistance to jurisdictions to develop, implement, and expand comprehensive efforts to identify, respond to, treat, and support individuals impacted by the use and misuse of opioids, stimulants, and other substances. Promotes access to treatment and recovery services in the criminal justice system, data collection and sharing, leveraging resources and funding, and efforts to prevent substance misuse.

Resource Type: Training
Sponsor: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
Culturally Responsive Pathways to Peer Programming in Tribal Communities

Provides an overview and history on the use of peer recovery support services (PRSS) in tribal communities to address high rates of substance use and substance use disorders (SUDs). Offers resources and models on best practices for tribes to develop, implement, and sustain PRSS programming. Draws insights from 9 tribal PRSS practitioners to highlight the importance of including Native American culture and traditions into PRSS delivery.

Resource Type: Document / Report
Date: 09/2023
Sponsor: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
Fletcher Group Rural Center of Excellence (RCOE)

Provides technical assistance to help establish and expand recovery housing services and evidence-based treatment and prevention programs in over 100 counties highly impacted by substance use disorder (SUD) in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho.

Resource Type: Technical Assistance
Sponsor: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP)
Implementing Peer Support Services in Small and Rural Law Enforcement Agencies

Discusses key considerations for small and rural law enforcement agencies seeking to establish and maintain peer support services. Promotes peer support as part of a wellness strategy for police officers dealing with substance use, mental, or physical health issues related to working in a high stress occupation. Provides action steps for peer support program design as well as promising practices and lessons learned from 3 small and rural departments currently utilizing peer support.

Resource Type: Document / Report
Date: 02/2023
Sponsor: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office)
Inspire and Think Big: Recovery Communities' Role in Challenging Times, Part 1

Interview with Colin Cash from the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota discussing his experience founding and leading the Sober Squad Recovery Movement program. Highlights ways that this program can serve as a model for advancing and sustaining recovery communities during periods of change and disruption.

Resource Type: Video / Audio / Multimedia
Date: 07/2020
Sponsor: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Inspire and Think Big: Recovery Communities' Role in Challenging Times, Part 3

Interview with Andre Johnson, President and CEO of the Detroit Recovery Project. Discusses how a peer-led, peer-run, peer-delivered recovery model can be used to advance recovery communities and help individuals maintain recovery during periods of change and disruption.

Resource Type: Video / Audio / Multimedia
Date: 08/2020
Sponsor: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Inspire and Think Big: Recovery Communities' Role in Challenging Times, Part 4

Interview with Callan Howton, Director of the National Peer-Run Training and Technical Assistance Center for Addiction Recovery Peer Support. Highlights how this model of providing recovery housing can be used to advance recovery communities and help individuals maintain recovery from substance use during periods of change and disruption.

Resource Type: Video / Audio / Multimedia
Date: 08/2020
Sponsor: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Inspire and Think Big: Recovery Communities' Role in Challenging Times, Part 6

Panel discussion featuring 5 representatives from recovery communities in different regions of the country. Draws on the speakers' experiences working to build successful community-based recovery programs and explores how their various approaches and strategies may serve as models to advance and sustain recovery communities during periods of change and disruption.

Resource Type: Video / Audio / Multimedia
Date: 08/2020
Sponsor: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Opioid-Overdose Reduction Continuum of Care Approach: A Guide for Policymakers for Implementing Evidence-Based Strategies That Address Opioid Overdose

Provides guidance to policymakers, communities, and key stakeholders to develop and implement system- and practice-level changes to reduce opioid overdose deaths. Presents results from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative's HEALing Communities Study. Outlines priority populations and 19 evidence-based interventions to prevent and reduce opioid related overdose deaths. Offers resources on various topics related to opioid overdose and highlights model programs, including those serving rural areas.

Resource Type: Document / Report
Date: 2023
Sponsors: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Overdose Prevention Strategy

Details the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services strategy to respond to drug overdoses and prevent overdose deaths across the U.S. Shares research, resources, and evidence-informed overdose interventions focused on 4 priority areas: primary prevention, harm reduction, evidence-based treatment, and recovery support. Offers strategies and resources designed to increase coordination among key stakeholders, reduce stigma, and expand access to healthcare and treatment for underserved populations, including rural and tribal communities.

Resource Type: Website
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Practical Guide for Expanding the Community-Based Behavioral Health Workforce

Shares strategies and best practices to help expand the community-based behavioral health workforce through the increased use of community-initiated care (CIC) and behavioral health support specialists (BHSS). Provides information to address behavioral health workforce shortages and behavioral health disparities in underserved communities and populations, including rural areas.

Resource Type: Document / Report
Date: 11/2024
Sponsor: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
SAMHSA Peer Recovery Center of Excellence (PR CoE)

Offers training, technical assistance, resources, and learning opportunities to support and enhance peer recovery support services in the U.S. Focuses on integrating peer services, building the capacity of recovery community organizations (RCOs), developing the peer workforce, educating and informing on evidence-based practices, and incorporating a health equity lens into peer recovery support services.

Resource Type: Training
Sponsor: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)