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/. 

Visit IoH's calendar to find out more information on future events.

See the flyer below for more information about this month's event!

Also, if you have not registered for our next Entrepreneurship Speaker Series, Instruments of Healing will be our featured guest. Click on this link to register!

It will be held on Saturday, January 15, 2022 at Sarasota Community Church in Sarasota, FL.

See the flyer below for details, and click here to download and share with others.

Click here to Register! 

According to the National Empowerment Center, this webinar explores "several conditions and intentions in art-making practice which can create spaces that support healing for ourselves and for those in emotional crisis."

Click here to register for the webinar.

Come join this free seminar (via zoom or in person) to learn best how to support someone who has suffered a miscarriage."

Click here for more info!

For those also located in Putnam County, FL you don't want to miss this opportunity to learn, obtain resources, and network within the Peer Community also located in Florida's Northeast Region. 

Please join us, and stop by our table for resources and information regarding mental health and the Peer Community (: 

MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER

The 20th Anniversary Summit includes the America Honors Recovery Awards Dinner & Gala on Monday evening, October 4th. In addition, this year we are hosting the Recovery Village exhibit hall. The Recovery Leadership Summit brings together recovery advocates from across the nation for networking and learning opportunities. Join us as a sponsor or exhibitor!

SAVE THE DATE

OCT 3 - 6, 2021 This Recovery Leadership Summit will be held over the course of four days andis filled with exceptional presentations, critical discussions and optional early morning and evening activities.

This year marks the 20th Anniversary of Faces & Voices of Recovery. In 20 years, many things have changed in the Recovery Movement, but our dedication to the mission has never wavered. Through your ongoing support we have been able to connect and help Recovery Community Organizations around the world and continue to work to change the way addiction and recovery are understood and embraced through advocacy, education and leadership.

 To Register Click Here

• If you are interested in making a difference in your community, please join this free event to learn and discuss opportunities for BRAVEs Peer Network core group. 
  

• A core group is the foundation of a peer network that involves individuals who are actively willing to take leadership roles and responsibilities. By taking on these roles, individuals are able to help sustain the network within the peer community and recovery community.
  

Click here for official flyer 

Click here to Register! 

Join in for this informative event about recovery.

View the flyer below for details, including contact information. Learn more about Shining Light Peer Services by visiting their website.

Click here for flyer

On April 24, 2020, Faces & Voices committed to releasing an action plan within 30 days to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and to lift voices from communities of color or other marginalized groups.

Here are the actions that have occurred in the past 30 days:

• Retained an outside consultant, Dr. Dietra Hawkins, a Cultural Competency specialist.
• Full board briefing on the need for specific activities regarding DEI
• Individual assessments with staff and board regarding cultural competency
• Frequent staff meetings regarding the issue, collaboration to identify next steps

The short-term actions planned are:

• Collect feedback and comments regarding action plan starting May 22, 2020
• Hold an all-staff DEI training before June 12, 2020
• Implement the Annie E. Casey Racial Analysis tool for all meetings and projects by July 1, 2020
• Refine the Strategic Plan with a DEI lens by July 31, 2020
• Conduct community forums with external stakeholders starting with Recovery Leadership Summit June 16, 2020

The long-term and ongoing actions are:

• Formalize and Implement DEI plan
• Deliver biannual progress reports on Faces & Voices DEI activities
• Examine all events for balance and representation from marginalized groups
• Restructure internal programs to eliminate structural barriers to equity

These actions will in no way solve the problems associated with race, gender, and other marginalized populations within the national recovery movement. Our goal is to amend our mistakes, move forward, and continue to grow in recovery. 

Please join us at our community forum on June 15th if you would like to share your thoughts and feelings with us.

Click here to register

We will spend time together to talk about what the nine proven steps to forgiving, letting go, and moving on! Come for a thought provoking discussion with peers!

Click here to attend workshop 

Click here to register and for official flyer 

Down below is the zoom link info to join:

Topic: Statewide Peer Workforce Job Fair

Time: Jun 11, 2021 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87857684440?pwd=SENmYjE1MTFPWm8vOFB2ZmZWL3FlZz09

Meeting ID: 878 5768 4440

Passcode: 7f8QRK

Dial by your location

        +1 929 205 6099 US (New York)

        +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

Meeting ID: 878 5768 4440

Passcode: 848450

Click here for agenda

Click here for more info 

Click here to Register 

"We invite you to come with compassionate curiosity. This space will be for learning - it is okay if you aren’t sure, don’t want to get it wrong, or have questions. This container is meant for folx wanting to learn more about a community that they might not be a part of.

Our hope is anyone who is providing peer support, holding space, is in any way a provider of mental health support or just generally connecting with gender diverse friends can prioritize attending this workshop to learn skills and information to help create safer, affirming spaces for our trans, nonbinary, genderqueer, and nonconfirming community members."

Click Here to Register 

Topic: Statewide Peer Workforce Job Fair

Time: Feb 27, 2021 10:30 AM EST.

Saturday, February 27th the Florida Department of Children and Families Office of Substance  Abuse and Mental Health, in partnership with our Managing Entities and Regional Offices, the Peer  Support Coalition, and Floridians for Recovery we will be holding a Statewide Virtual Peer Job Fair.  There will be a presentation on Peer Services, we will be supporting the individual designations in  developing support and advocacy groups, we will hear powerful stories of transformation and we will be allowing providers the opportunity to hold virtual booths to support the needs of outreach  for expanding their workforces. 

Click here for Meeting Agenda

Join Zoom Meeting 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86153735697?pwd =VGxldU5ZWkQ5cENWcU9aR3BMYmNjQT09 

Meeting ID: 861 5373 5697 

Passcode: uDw2MS W

This, our first learning community, will be all about peer leadership. Each facilitated meeting will last about 90 minutes, with a meeting every two weeks beginning on February 18th.

They will include a short presentation from a guest speaker, followed by a significant question and answer period. In order to create a sense of connection and allow for conversation, the learning community will be limited to 25 participants.

Click here to Register 

The Third Annual New Mexico Peer Summit is organized by the Office of Peer Recovery & Engagement (OPRE).

For More Info and To Register:

Click Here