PSCFL Announces Peer Hero of The Year Grand Prize Winner: Global Peer Support Celebration Day

PSCFL Announces Peer Hero of The Year Grand Prize Winner: Global Peer Support Celebration Day

Sarah Smith, Certified Recovery Peer Specialist (CRPS)

October 20th marks Global Peer Support Celebration Day (GPSCD) an honorable and exciting day for peer supporters (also known as peer workers or peer specialists) from across the globe to celebrate the vital role they play in helping peers who are recovering from mental health, substance use, and or trauma-related challenges move along the continuum of recovery and inclusion into communities of their choosing. On this day the Peer Support Coalition of Florida, Inc. (PSCFL)  recognized Peer Specialists from across the state during our Facebook Live Hour event.

 PSCFL received over 18 nominations from peers, mental health advocates, and community members to give  a Peer Specialist who has impacted their local community a chance to win a grand prize! 

PSCFL announces that our 2022 “Peer Hero of The Year” grand prize winner is none other than Peer Specialist Sarah Smith, Certified Recovery Peer Specialist (CRPS).

Sarah holds a Master’s degree in Human Relations with a concentration in Program Development, Social Justice, and Change from the University of Oklahoma. Additionally, she is completing a second Masters in Social Work at Florida State University. She is an Internationally Credentialed Advanced Addiction Counselor (ICAAC), as well as a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor in Oklahoma, a Master Certified Addiction Professional, and a Certified Behavioral Health Case Management Supervisor for adults and children in Florida.

Sarah is also a Certified Behavioral Health Case Manager Supervisor (CBHCMS). Sarah works with an international company known as Barination, where she hosts Peer Support meetings with Bariatric Patients working on recovery from substance use and/or dealing with transfer substance use disorder post-surgery. 

Sarah Smith identifies as a person in long-term recovery. She underwent Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) surgery in May of 2021 and is using her professional and lived experience to help others on their bariatric journey. What makes this CRPS so special:

“She has gone over and above to increase the peer support workforce in Northeast Florida. She provides supervision and support to all of us. She helps us study and prepare for the exam. She provides funds for us to train, attend conferences, and hire more peers.”

Sarah has been a part of the Starting Point Behavioral Healthcare (SPBH) team for seven years and currently serves as the Grants Director. Before joining SPBH’s team, she spent five years working as the Clinical Director for Total Life Counseling Foundation in Oklahoma City, OK. 

She has 3 years of experience working as an Evaluation Associate with Oklahoma Citizen Advocates for Recovery and Transformation Association (OCARTA) on the  CSAT’s (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment) RCSP (Recovery Community Services Program) project Sister to Sister from 2006 to 2010 as well as the Lead Evaluator on AWARE Oklahoma CMHS Statewide Consumer Network Grant. 

She served as a member of the Governor’s Transformation and Advisory Board as the Co-Chair of the Consumer Involvement Study Group until the end of the project in 2011. She currently serves as the Vice-Chair for First Coast Recovery Advocates, a Recovery Community Organization representing Northeast Florida, and as a Board Member of the Florida Harm Reduction Collective, a statewide nonprofit organization.

“Sarah works so hard to make sure that we are valuable and supported as part of the team. She believes in the powers of peers and reminds us how important we are every day. She writes grants to get the money to hire more peers. Over the last two years, we added 15 new peers to our team!”

To learn more about Peer Specialist and how to get involved, you can click on this link: www.peersupportfl.org/who-we-serve/peer-specialists/.