An ecosystem built to last: expanding the capacity and sustainability of the peer support workforce in colorado - the colorado mental wellness network (cmwn) is a statewide, 100% peer-run nonprofit…

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded Colorado Mental Wellness Network $150,000 on September 30, 2026, under the Center for Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance program (CFDA 93.532) to expand capacity and sustainability of Colorado's peer support workforce.

CMWN will implement four capacity-building activities over the three-year period of performance through September 29, 2029: developing and annually updating a statewide peer support capacity-building plan with stakeholder input; hiring a full-time association manager and establishing a board of directors to guide the Colorado Association of Peer Support Professionals; expanding peer support professional voice and influence through a Peer Support Advisory Council, Peer Support Trainer Coalition, affinity groups and forums, monthly PSP support groups, and advocacy and workforce-focused training; and increasing workforce recruitment, retention, and leadership capabilities through peer support professional and peer support supervisor trainings. The project targets Colorado's peer support workforce—peer support professionals and supervisors with lived experience of serious mental illness. Work is performed in Denver, Colorado.

An ecosystem built to last: expanding the capacity and sustainability of the peer support workforce in colorado - the colorado mental wellness network (cmwn) is a statewide, 100% peer-run nonprofit organization dedicated to building the necessary infrastructure to sustain the peer support workforce. Cmwn and the colorado association of peer support professionals, a program of cmwn, will use this three-year grant to strengthen their capacity as the statewide leaders in peer support, addressing the gaps that prevent peer support professionals (psps) from reaching their full potential. Through this project, cmwn will implement four capacity-building activities: 1) developing and annually updating the statewide peer support capacity-building plan with stakeholder input from the peer support advisory council, 2) hiring a full-time association manager and developing a board of directors to guide the strategic direction and implementation of association programming, 3) expanding the voice and influence of psps through the establishment of the peer support advisory council and the peer support trainer coalition, the further development of the association's various affinity groups and forums, and the delivery of cmwn's monthly PSP support groups and additional advocacy and workforce-focused training offerings, and 4) increasing workforce recruitment, retention, and leadership capabilities through our flagship PSP and PS supervisor trainings. This project's population of focus is colorado's peer support workforce, peer support professionals (psps) and supervisors, with lived experience of serious mental illness (SMI). Colorado ranks 41ST in the nation for adult mental health outcomes and has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. Peer support services are the missing link, yet the capacity GAP is structural: colorado has no enforceable statewide peer support workforce standards, no centralized continuing education source for recertification, and no infrastructure to connect and sustain a rapidly growing workforce across the state. For more than a decade, cmwn has led peer support workforce development efforts in colorado, piloting programs, conducting listening sessions, and providing the state's premier PSP and PS supervisor trainings. We are trusted by the workforce to lead these efforts because we are part of this community; we are peers, leaders, and stakeholders with a true passion for peer support. As training programs are expanding statewide, without a strong, sustained, centralized home, clear standards, and better development opportunities, this workforce's growth produces fragmentation, frustration, and harm rather than transformation. Investing in this project will have an undeniable ripple effect: resourcing psps and supervisors will provide thousands of coloradans with high-quality, empathetic mental health care annually. This samhsa funding will allow cmwn to scale what we have already built: a living, breathing ecosystem of training, connection, and support. IT will strengthen and expand the association, increase workforce retention and professional development capacity, and extend access across regions of colorado that currently lack consistent care. We have emerged as the state's leader in peer support programming: now, we are ready to expand our efforts to change the course of colorado's mental health landscape.