Peer Into Recovery Danielle Donaldson

Episode 8: Family Peer Support with Cristy Corbin







































About the Episode

Date: April 5, 2021

Episode 8: Family Peer Support with Cristy Corbin







































Summary

Family Support Partners offer guidance, advocacy, and peer support for parents and caregivers of children and youth receiving services from mental, substance use, and other related service systems. They are trained peer supporters using their personal parenting experiences to assist parents and caregivers navigate child-serving systems more effectively, learn from other families, and gain hope and information. 







































Cristy Corbin has been an integral part in developing the Family Support Partner (FSP) role in Virginia over the past eleven years. In her most recent job position, Cristy was representing the family perspective and voice throughout Virginia as the System of Care State Family Lead for Virginia’s System of Care grants. In this role, Cristy was providing training, support and program consultation to a variety of grant sites, until this grant funding ended on September 30, 2020. Due to the unprecedented need for this type of role and Cristy’s passion to continue the work, Cristy founded Family Support Partners of Virginia, Inc., a peer support service provider, to ensure parents/caregivers, youth, and adult individuals throughout Virginia will continue to have an option for this form of peer support.

As a subject matter expert, Cristy provides a variety of trainings, peer support program development and consultation, peer support workforce development, supervision and coaching, and continued advocacy for family voice and choice, and policy changes and development to better serve the recovery community. Cristy has served on a variety of committees, workgroups, and boards ensuring that the family and youth’s perspectives were included and honored in the decision-making processes, and currently serves as the parent representative on the Virginia Children’s Services Act’s State and Local Advisory Team.

Learn more about Family Support Partners of Virginia

Episode 7: Staying Connected in a Syndemic with Jason Cox







































About the Episode

Date: February 9, 2021

Episode 7: Staying Connected in a Syndemic with Jason Cox







































Summary

Fostering connection is a core tenet of peer support. In a syndemic, what are our options for building relationships and maintaining our support network? We talk about the successes and challenges of peer recovery support while in the midst of concurrent epidemics. 







































Jason Cox is the Lead Certified Peer Recovery Specialist with Alive RVA and SAARA of Virginia. He has worked alongside others in the community such as DEA, Discovery Education, SAFE Opioid Prevention Taskforce, and many others to assist in taking positive action in the community and reduce the stigma of SUD one step at a time. Jason is living in long-term recovery and plans to continue gaining knowledge to become the most effective Peer Recovery Specialist possible. Jason is truly grateful for the opportunity to give this knowledge to those who need help and seek recovery from substance use disorder and addiction.

Peer Job Development with Cynthia Evans







































About the Episode

Date: November 12, 2020

Episode 6: Peer Job Development with Cynthia Evans







Summary

Supporting peers in their job search and professional development is often a task of a peer recovery specialist. Encouraging peers to discover and follow their dreams is empowering for both the peer and peer supporter. We also discuss the future of the profession of peer support and thinking beyond the one-on-one peer support model.























Cynthia Evans has worked for peer-run mental health and disability organizations on the local, state, and national levels. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a Peer Support Specialist, Job Developer, Trainer, Consultant, and Program Director. Administration, grant writing and management, training and group facilitation are among her many skills professionally.

A native of Detroit, she is a gifted speaker who seeks to use life lessons learned to “enhearten” her peers - which means “to encourage, to give confidence to, and to embolden others!”

Overcoming Obstacles with Leroy Robinson







































About the Episode

Date: November 5, 2020

Episode 5: Overcoming Obstacles with Leroy Robinson







Summary

How does an individual in recovery deal with obstacles? Regardless of what society throws at you, you have choices. Rather than opening wounds while working with peers, Leroy chooses to stay positive, and tries to support peers by modeling how to love yourself and others. As peers in recovery, we have more in common than we have differences. Leroy advocates through his personal example, showing others that the person they might at first stereotype can turn their life around and help others do the same.







































Leroy Robinson is supervisor of the 401 Peer Center in Radford, a facility operated by New River Valley Community Services that is designed to support individuals in recovery from substance use and mental health disorders.

Originally from Philadelphia, he is in long-term recovery, after 24 years of active addiction. He was one of the first two participants to graduate from the Pulaski County Adult Drug Court Treatment Program in 2016 and has most recently been employed by New River Valley Community Services as a Peer Recovery Specialist, assisting individuals enrolled in local drug court and jail diversion programs.

Probation Peer Support with Eddie Wiggins







































About the Episode

Date: August 20, 2020

Episode 4: Probation Peer Support with Eddie Wiggins







Summary

Peer Recovery Support has been shown to help increase success in community living for adults with mental health conditions who return from a period of incarceration. The goal of Probation Peer Support is to provide a mental health peer support component as another recovery wellness tool for individuals under probation supervision. Mental Health America of Virginia contracted with the Virginia Department of Corrections for a pilot project in 3 state probation districts: Portsmouth, Winchester and Wytheville. Two Peer Recovery Specialists co-facilitate weekly wellness groups to adult probationers who have mental health or co-occurring mental health and substance use needs. The peer recovery support model uses evidence-based principles of recovery as defined by SAMHSA, and facilitators are trained in the WRAP or a similar model.

The pandemic has limited implementation, but phone support is being provided in one district and other virtual support options are planned to help fill the project's goals until in-person groups can resume. Also, probationers may call the MHAV Warm Line at any time for peer to peer listening and supportive reinforcement of recovery principles.







































Eddie Wiggins is a Registered Certified Peer Recovery Support Specialist, as well as, a certified Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Peer Recovery Support Trainer for 3 years. Mr. Wiggins is a certified WRAP facilitator. He has previously, worked with the Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board’s “Next Step Psychosocial Unit” as a Peer Specialist facilitating educational groups and activities. Currently working with Mental Health America of Virginia as the Probation Peer Manager, he supervises PRS facilitators in three Probation and Parole Districts in the state of Virginia and is responsible for developing and implementing a pilot wellness support group for the Virginia Department of Corrections. He has also held the position of Member-At-Large with SAARA of the Peninsula, volunteering to go into the Newport News City jails to co-facilitate recovery wellness groups for criminally involved individuals seeking to find their pathway to recovery.

Prior to working with Mental Health America of Virginia and the Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board, Eddie worked with the Peninsula Alcohol Safety Action Program as a Facilitator for 12 years; the Chesapeake Bay Alcohol Safety Action Program In Virginia Beach, VA, as the Executive Administrative Assistant and Coordinator for the ASAP Facilitators. He served as a Residential Substance Abuse worker and Mental Health Technician at two local Rehabilitative Substance Abuse/Mental Health facilities. He has created training curriculums for, ”at-Risk-Youth” while serving as an Information System Consultant and Trainer with the City of Hampton, VA.

With 29 years of long term recovery and wellness practice, Eddie, has spoken at many different venues both locally and elsewhere to individuals that struggle with addiction and mental health disorders to improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.

Peer Drop-in Centers with Robin Hubert







































About the Episode

Date: June 8, 2020

Episode 3: Peer Drop-in Centers with Robin Hubert







Summary

Peer drop-in centers provide a welcoming, peer-run space for the purpose of promoting recovery through socialization, education, support, advocacy and recreation.









































Robin Hubert is celebrating 19 years this summer as the Executive Director of On Our Own of Roanoke Valley. She loves being a part of this wonderful peer support organization. She is a mom and grandmother, great-grandmother, loves playing guitar and writing songs about recovery.  She is a WRAP Facilitator, having been trained in the first class in Virginia in 2004.



She enjoys being a trainer of the Virginia Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Training and feels blessed to have facilitated 18 Peer Recovery Specialist Trainings since 2012.



She is an eCPR Facilitator, Peer Whole Health & Resiliency Facilitator and most recently become a Certified Personal Medicine Coach through Pat Deegan and Associates.



 

Robin can be reached at On Our Own of Roanoke Valley.