Certified Peer Specialist TRAINING COURSE

1980: Lighthouse, a small consumer group, is allocated space at a state office in Madison with access to mail, copying, and phone services. They publish a newsletter. 1981: NAMI Wisconsin is created. 1983: The Wisconsin Council on Mental Health is established as the mental health planning council for the state. Members are appointed by the governor. At least half of the members are consumers or family members of consumers. 1987: American Medical Association calls all drug addictions diseases. 1988: Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy (now known as Disability Rights Wisconsin) hires two consumers to plan a consumer conference. 1988: Wisconsin Family Ties, an advocacy organization for families of children with severe emotional disturbance, is established. 1988: The Wisconsin Network of Mental Health Consumers is organized with an office in Madison. 1988: The Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services awards federal block grant funds to the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin (now Vivent Health) to begin outreach programs to people who inject drugs to help reduce and stop the risk of HIV, HCV, and the harms associated with injection drug use. Peers provide the outreach service and help refer people to services including syringe exchange, HIV and HCV testing and counseling, and treatment and recovery services for substance use. 1989: The Wisconsin administrative code that created Community Support Programs is published. Late 1980s: The Community Support Programs Conference begins to involve consumers through the conference planning committee and consumer roundtables at the conference. County programs are encouraged to bring consumers to the conference. 1990s: Online recovery support groups and services form, creating a virtual recovery community without geographic boundaries. 1990: The first Children Come First Conference is held by Wisconsin Family Ties. 1992: The Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services begins to allocate $480,000 each year in federal block grant funds for consumer and family self-help and peer support programs. 1993: Eighteen consumer and family self-help and peer support programs in Wisconsin are funded with mental health block grant money. 1994: 1993 Wisconsin Act 445 takes effect, with changes to client rights, mental health program certification, and the composition of community human service boards.

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