Historical Context for Certified Peer Specialists (Core Competencies: 1.5; 2.5; 2.9; 3.7; 4.19)
Prior to reviewing the timeline of Systems Transformation and Western Consumer Involvement , it is important to be grounded in what came before the timeline begins. The skills and practice of peer support have been present in the Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities long before the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative formed. The root of this initiative reflects the community care and collective support that has long existed as part of the culture of BIPOC communities. Many cultures have found truth, safety, and courage in peer skills and support. Though embedded into their identities as people, the innate instinct to lean on community became a means to survive the systemic injustices being faced in the Western world. These injustices include the colonization of Indigenous land, the dehumanizing of Black and Brown bodies as slaves in the United States, and the near-wholesale abandonment of Indigenous people who were used as political and social leverage. Additionally, other communities who have faced systemic marginalization or alienation have turned to community care and collective support, including mutual aid and peer support, as a means of survival long before the Wisconsin Peer Specialist Employment Initiative came into being. Some examples include survivors of institutionalization with lived experience of mental health and substance use challenges, LGBTQ+ communities in response to the AIDS crisis and widespread homophobia and transphobia, as well as migrant communities and those facing visa insecurity or threat of deportation to name a few. In these examples, the systemic marginalization or neglect caused situations to arise where shared lived experience was the driving force of community connection, resilience, and emotional, as well as material, support. Historical context for Wisconsin The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) values diversity and recognizes a responsibility to support and meet the needs of people who have been systemically marginalized. Peer support is a way of providing care that is strongly rooted in diverse communities where individuals often face barriers to accessing services due to stigma, racism, and bias. Peer support has grown from natural support systems (family and friends), into grassroots community systems. Today, it is a formal part of the mental health and substance use services system. It is also part of other systems of care.
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