Our last show discussed the pros and cons of peer recovery supporters receiving services from the place where they work. Turns out that our hosts, Juliet C. Dorris-Williams and Gabe Howard, have more to say! Listen in as they continue the discussion.
How much of the refusal to access services is stigma? Are we stigmatizing ourselves? Is your employer on your side? Do you distrust your agency? How do you know when your worries are justified? We talk about all that and more!
Show Notes:
3:43 – "But we're also putting peers in a cage where we just can't be human and we can't talk about very real issues and problems and concerns and things that, you know, tick us off." (There is a lot of pressure on peer recovery supporters to maintain a façade of perfection.)
4:59 – "We spend more time living our lives than we do managing our illness. 'In recovery' does not mean cured." (Recovery is a lifelong, ongoing process.)
5:51 – "If you're expected to be perfect, failure is inevitable, because nobody is." (Employers sometimes have unreasonable expectations of peer recovery supporters.)
9:35 – "Even though our supervisors and our workplaces said, 'Look, you know, HIPPA is in place. We're going to protect you. We care about you.' We don't believe them." (Many peer recovery supporters do not trust that their privacy and confidentiality will be respected.)
18:14 – "You know one on one advocacy is just an area of advocacy that is almost always missed because, frankly, it's the hardest." (Advocating for yourself can be more intimidating than speaking on behalf of the larger group.)
