Arizona peer referral center - the arizona peer referral center would be operated by recovery empowerment network of maricopa county INC

In phoenix arizona. This program will ensure that the community gains education regarding peer support services. Our agency will support the individual in finding peer support services within arizona that will best suit their unique needs and eligibility. We will then provide a complete referral to the selected peer support agency and facilitate the warm hand off with the member. Arizona has a significant need to increase peer support services throughout the state due to only half of the individuals living with a mental illness are receiving services for their diagnosis. This project can close this GAP by connecting individuals living with a serious mental illness (SMI) throughout the state of arizona to peer support services; including programing for justice involved, CO-occurring, integrated care, employment, and education through referrals with partner organizations. This grant would provide the development of infrastructure to expand the program to serve members who have a serious mental illness as defined as persons ages 18 and older who have met criteria for a mental disorder as recognized by the diagnostic classification system (DSM-v) and displays functional impairment, as determined by a standardized measures, which impedes progress towards recovery and sustainability in their functioning in family, school, employment, relationships or community activities. The first goal of this program is to improve access to statewide peer support and recovery oriented integrated, and coordinated treatment, services, and supports including through community-based outreach and peer support to those with SMI and through peer placement in clinical settings for the purposes of working as part of the clinical team and assisting those with SMI to obtain maximum benefit from individualized treatment services in the community setting by providing specific mental health related practices and policies for other programs, organizations, and communities to implement; providing referrals to peer support services to SMI individuals who are interested to the organization of their choosing who will be able to accommodate needs; providing connection to clinical services as necessary to community members with behavioral health diagnosis who are not already receiving services. The second goal of this program is to emphasize and building statewide consumer leadership within consumer operated organization and in the community through providing training to people in mental health, and related workforce trained in specific mental health related practices/activities; increasing peer involvement on advisory councils and work groups throughout the state. The third goal of this program is to build capacity and sustainability of statewide consumer networks through providing peer support credentialing training to increase available peer support staff and increase community knowledge of availability of peer support throughout the state of arizona. The fourth goal of this program is to expand peer support services to justice involved individuals through providing training and development partnership with department of corrections and detention centers to provide referral to peer support upon release from jail and/or prisons; increasing peer support services in halfway houses and mental health court. We intend to serve 200 individuals through community education and training and 200 individuals through referrals to peer support services.