“PEERPOCALYPSE is a conference of leaders, emerging leaders, innovators, and peers who want to become more involved in the peer community. Adopting the philosophy that peers bring with them a great deal of knowledge and expertise, the event is about bringing the community together to share information, skills, and experience.”-MHAAO
“Nothing About Us Without Us” Is the Peer Support mantra because decisions about us continue to be made without us. We know what works. The PeerPocalypse Conference takes place in Seaside, Oregon, and attracts peer workers from the PNW as well as across the country. I was excited to meet several people who attended the conference this year because they wanted to learn about how Peer Services are implemented in Oregon. I am looking forward to implementing things that we learned into how we work with our participants and even possibly help others as they grow their peer base.
In my role as the Traditional Health Worker Supervisor here at ShelterCare, it is impressive to see so much growth from Ash and Melissa after four days of workshops and self-care. We were all reminded that there is hope and that the impact of Peer Support is finally being acknowledged.
– Crys Webb, Traditional Health Worker Supervisor, ShelterCare
Executive Director,
Oregon Mental Health Consumers Association
Board Member,
State of Oregon Consumer Advisory Council
I was elated when I found out that I would be receiving a scholarship to attend Peerpocalypse. What a great opportunity to further my knowledge alongside my fellow peers and make new connections! I obtained invaluable knowledge to bring back and share with my coworkers and my team. I was truly moved by the keynote speakers and others who would share their experiences and stories. I am so grateful for the time I spent at Peerpocalypse and I really hope to go again.
-Ash Boeger, Peer Support Specialist, ShelterCare Permanent Supported Housing
I was feeling total excitement as I got an email notifying me that I received a scholarship for PEERPOCALYPSE this year! Though I was not able to attend in person I was still able to use the scholarship virtually. I went on the Peerpocalypse app and picked out all the workshops I wanted to attend, from Beyond Normality: Exploring & Affirming Diverse Ways of Being Healthy, to Youth Perspectives: Eliminating Mental Health Stigma, and next thing you know my calendar is full! So many great courses were available to me virtually, and it was hard to choose between some of them.
I was looking forward to learning more about my role as a Peer Support Specialist. I was hoping to find new & unique ways to connect and build rapport with my participants, and also to work on myself, my confidence as a Peer, and to help remind myself why I do this work and why it is so important. This experience did ALL of that and so much more! I was not disappointed. Not only did I come away with more knowledge to share with my team, and my participants, but I came away with a better understanding of my role, the value of what I do, and also how important it is to take care of ourselves through Self-Care. I learned so much about other companies and what Peer work looks like in their organizations. What an impactful week! From the workshops to the keynote speakers! I was laughing and crying more than I had in a very long time. And it felt good! Good to be among others who are in the same field, who have the same kind of stories, who have experienced the same type of traumas, who are all here for the same purpose; to support others, to be better at what we do, to bring more knowledge to the table, to be more confident in our role, but also to remember that we are human, we will mess up and that’s OKAY too, and most importantly to care for ourselves!
I am so thankful for this experience and really hope to be there in person next year as I can only imagine how much more impactful it would be. How much more educational it would be to meet with the other organizations, and to learn what partnerships might be available to our company.
I am excited to share what I have learned with my coworkers, and feel like this is now going to be an event I try my absolute best to attend every year!
-Melissa Hardy, Peer Support Specialist, ShelterCare Permanent Supported Housing