In October, at the Howie T. Harp Peer Specialist Training Center's annual graduation, CASES received an award presented by Chrystal Woodson, a Howie T. Harp graduate and Peer Specialist with the Nathaniel Project - our alternative sentencing program for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.

Cases alternative-to-incarceration programs form a hub for the considerable treatment, employment, education, and social service needs of the participants that we serve. Successfully navigating and coordinating the web of public systems and private non-profit service providers that, with CASES at the core, form the basis of participants' permanent movement away from the justice system involvement is a complex task. Add in participants' distrust of these systems and services, along with a pervasive sense of hopelessness, and the task becomes seemingly impossible. However, with perspective and guidance provided by individuals who have experienced these challenges firsthand, participants' odds of success increase.

The Nathaniel Project is at the forefront of a growing movement to integrate peers as staff and experts in jail and prison diversion programs. In this context, a "consumer" or "peer" is a person who has a mental health condition and, perhaps, a history of involvement in the criminal justice system.

Peers are able to connect with participants in a way that other staff members are not. Through this connection, participants are able to improve social functioning and self-esteem and access the social supports they need. Peers can effectively train participants to advocate for themselves and access self-help resources. Not only do peers model success for clients, they also increase optimism about the chances of positive outcomes among other staff.

The concept of pairing individuals who have successfully tread the path of recovery with those who are just embarking on it is not new. But within the context of jail and prison mental health diversion, the model is novel and could not be more relevant. Peers have an immediate credibility that is invaluable in reaching out to CASES participants who face so many unique and sometimes overwhelming challenges.

With gratitude and admiration, I thank Chrystal and the many other peers and program graduates who have been willing to share their wisdom and give us the hope we need to do this work successfully.

Click here to view the Spring 2005 "Letter from the Director'

Click here to view the Summer 2004 "Letter from the Director"