My-Peer Best practice standards for youth peer support programs 9 October 2008

Presented by:Roanna Lobo Graham Brown Western Australian Centre for Health Promotion Research, Curtin University of Technology My-Peer Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute

The My-Peer project is supported by Lotterywest and Healthway. Acknowledgments

Overall aims of My-Peer To promote the long term sustainability of youth peer support programs. To develop field-tested best practice standards for the design, implementation and evaluation of peer support programs for mental health promotion.

My-Peer consortium

Young people's mental health  1 in 4 young people will experience a depressive disorder during adolescence 1  75% of mental health disorders begin before the age of 25 2  Yet 70% young people who experience mental health problems don't seek help  Early intervention and prevention are very important 1 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Young Australians: their health and wellbeing, Canberra,

Young people's mental health  Adolescents are highly influenced by their peers  Peer group acceptance and healthy peer relationships are important predictors of good mental health  Not all young people experience positive peer relationships  Many young people can feel isolated, desperate and alone

Peer support  A type of informal social or psychological support  Peers share equal status  Through meeting others facing similar issues, or in similar predicaments, young people can build:  Resilience/coping strategies  Connectedness  Problem solving skills  A sense of possibility

Peer support programs (PSPs) Promote positive mental health through:  Peer influence – giving or receiving support  Active involvement of young people  Strengths-focused approaches  Early intervention  Youth friendly settings

PSPs are particularly effective for  Hard to reach groups  Marginalised youth  Youth out of school  At risk or vulnerable youth  Young people who do not actively seek help

Characteristics of PSPs Safe environment Acceptance Supportive/non-judgmental Opportunity to meet peers in similar situations facing common issues Confidentiality/anonymity Experiential learning

Associated benefits Cognitive/behavioural change Peer support Provide hope Friendships/social networking Service information Personal development

Freedom Centre  Drop-in centre for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans* youth  Safe space  Anonymity and confidentiality  Peer support and specialist referrals  Educational programs  Online support services too

Peer Support Program  5 week program including weekend camp  For youth at risk of depression, suicide or self harm  Complements therapeutic services  Peer support  Opportunity to practise social skills  Personal development

Peer support program

Talking Realities  Peer educator training program for pregnant or parenting teenage girls aged  Peer support  Assistance to finish education or gain employment

Talking Realities

Gone Fishing  Fishing skills program for lonely or isolated youth  Opportunity to interact with seniors and peers  Opportunity to make friends with other peers who enjoy fishing  Active leisure pursuit

Ongoing challenges for PSPs  Funding  Collecting evidence of effectiveness  Incremental change, not a quick fix  Sustainability  Often dependent on volunteers/highly committed staff members or individuals  Scarce resources

The need for sustainability “We know we're doing something right. We need to be able to say what and why” (agency) “If it wasn't for this program I wouldn't be here today” (young person) ‏ “This is the only place I feel safe. I don't have any other friends” (young person) ‏

The need for evidence and standards  Funding and sustainability  Service improvement  Implementing best practice – efficient use of scarce resources  Duty of care/ethical issues re youth participation  Staff morale/retention  Knowledge sharing

My-Peer project objectives  Best practice standards for PSPs  Field tested resources  Evaluation methods/tools/approaches suitable for PSP contexts  Best practice models for sustainability  Capacity building within agencies

Pilot work completed Framework defining the role of PSPs in mental health promotion Range of evaluation tools and strategies tested within Freedom Centre. Active involvement of young people and peer volunteers in design and testing.

My-Peer project design  Action research  Diverse range of PSPs and agencies  Identify best practice models/success factors  Identify suitable indicators for measuring effectiveness of PSPs  Develop and test evaluation tools  12 month duration (Nov 2008 start)

Project challenges Youth friendly tools Knowledge/skills of staff Suitable indicators for hard to measure long term outcomes, e.g. emotional wellbeing Time and resource constraints within agencies

Discussion What issues do you face running youth programs? Which areas are hardest to show evidence that programs are effective? What resources would assist? What format should these take? Keen to get feedback right at the start of the project

Interest group Do you run a PSP? Feel you could benefit from the My-Peer resources? Like to be kept updated on the My-Peer project? Interested in giving feedback on draft standards? Sign up to join the My-Peer interest group today!

My-Peer website For more information and to access further resources, please visit the My-Peer website at:

Contact details Ms Roanna Lobo, My-Peer Project Manager Tel: (Direct) ‏ Dr Graham Brown, My-Peer Project Director Tel: (Direct) ‏