Real Support From Real People.

Peer support is about building on strengths, focusing on recovery goals, and fostering hope. It takes away the “you don’t understand what it’s like” feeling that many experience in traditional mental health care.

Certified Peer Support Specialists (CPSSs) bring something unique—they’ve been there. With their own lived experience of mental health and recovery, they truly understand the challenges, confusion, and grief that can come with it. Because of this, they can offer empathy, encouragement, and consistency in ways that make recovery feel possible.

CPSSs are people in recovery from mental illness or co-occurring substance use who use their own journey to support others. They complete state-approved training, pass a certification exam, and are ready to walk alongside others with compassion and understanding.



By sharing their stories and modeling recovery, CPSSs help build trust, break down stigma, and show that healing is real and within reach.