Peer support for harm reduction & recovery teams
Support the people who support others.
We partner with organizations to design, build, and sustain peer support for harm reduction and recovery workers, managers, and volunteers.
Together, we strengthen the skills to support people experiencing grief and create space for the people doing that work to receive support themselves.
You offer support.
You deserve it, too.
Room to pause, connect, and speak honestly about what the work holds.
Two connected needs
Care for your community.
Care within your team.
Loss, stigma, and uncertainty can be part of the work. Workers may also be grieving people they know and care about. Support needs to make room for both the person receiving care and the person offering it.
Supporting the people you serve
Build confidence in being alongside grief.
Strengthen the skills to listen, respond with care, recognize boundaries, and help people connect with additional support when they need it.
Supporting one another
Make space for what workers carry.
Create opportunities for staff and volunteers to receive peer support, talk about their own experiences, and connect with colleagues who understand the work.
A partnership shaped with your team
Design, build, and sustain support that fits.
Your team brings knowledge of its community and the realities of the work. We bring experience in peer grief support, training, facilitation, and program development. We begin by listening.
Design
Start with the people doing the work.
Understand the experiences, relationships, and support already present in your organization. Shape an approach with the people who will use it.
- Listen to workers, managers, and volunteers.
- Identify where connection or preparation is missing.
- Consider the team’s roles, capacity, and existing supports.
Build
Bring skills and supportive spaces together.
Develop learning that connects to real conversations and situations. Prepare people to offer peer support and help establish spaces where they can receive it, too.
- Customize peer grief support training.
- Practice listening and supportive conversations using RIVER.
- Develop sharing circles and prepare people to help lead.
Sustain
Keep support connected to everyday work.
Continue beyond the first training or meeting. Work together on the connections, leadership, and practical arrangements that help support remain part of your organization.
- Offer continued opportunities for peer connection.
- Support facilitators through consultation and learning.
- Review what is useful and adjust the approach together.
More than one way to offer care
Build on what your team needs most.
Some organizations begin with training. Others need space for workers to connect, preparation for people leading groups, or help bringing these pieces together.
The approach can include support for frontline staff and volunteers as well as separate spaces for managers carrying the responsibility of supporting a team.
We shape the scope together around your people, setting, and resources. Not every partnership includes every form of support.
- Customized trainingLearning about grief, stigma, supportive communication, boundaries, and when to connect someone with more support.
- Sharing circles and peer connectionFacilitated spaces to reflect on the work, acknowledge personal loss, and receive support from peers.
- Preparation for people leading supportPractical learning and guidance for qualified staff and volunteers who will help facilitate supportive spaces.
- Consultation and ongoing supportA continuing partnership to think through implementation, support the people holding the space, and strengthen internal capacity.
The RIVER peer grief support model
A framework for human connection.
RIVER offers a practical way to approach peer grief support through listening, presence, and respect for the other person’s experience. Training creates room to practice these skills in situations that matter to your team.
- Relate
- Invite
- Validate
- Empower
- Reassure
Learning and resources
Something to build on.
Something to return to.
PSCP’s training, workshops, and guides can support the work between conversations and meetings. Together, we can identify what is relevant to your team and the people you serve.
Learning Hub
Explore learning in grief understanding, RIVER, peer grief support design, and group facilitation.
Browse Learning Hub offeringsPsychoeducational workshops
Find education, reflection, and practical tools on grief-related topics. Choose workshops suited to your team or community.
See workshop topicsPeer grief helper support
Learn more about sharing circles, peer networks, and support for the people offering care.
Explore support for peer helpersFree grief guides
Peer-informed guides offer something to read, share, and return to at your own pace—for your own grief or when supporting someone else.
A place to begin
You don’t need the whole plan.
Tell us what is happening in your team and where you see a need. That is enough to start a conversation.
Who is this partnership for?
Organizations and programs with harm reduction workers, recovery workers, managers, or volunteers who encounter grief and loss in their work. We can discuss support for staff themselves, preparation to support others, or both.
Can we build on support we already have?
Yes. We begin with what is already working, what your team values, and where you would like help. That may mean strengthening an existing approach or developing something new together.
Can PSCP help prepare people within our team to lead?
We can discuss training and preparation for qualified staff and volunteers, along with consultation and ongoing support appropriate to their roles and your organization’s needs.
What if I am looking for support for myself?
You are welcome to contact us to ask about relevant options, or explore the public resources available through PSCP. Find grief resources
Let’s build support around your team.
Tell us about your people, the work they do, and the support you want to strengthen. Together, we can consider an approach that fits.