NYC Health + Hospitals Celebrates 100 Graduates from its Peer Academy to Expand Behavioral Health Workforce
The Peer Academy trains community members with lived experience with substance use or mental health conditions to become certified peer counselors who engage and support health system patients NYC Health + Hospitals also released the story of Aiden Avery, a graduate of the Peer Academy who now works at the health system as a peer counselor NYC Health + Hospitals currently employs over 100 peers across the system and is one of the largest employers of peers in NYC
NYC Health + Hospitals today announced it has graduated over 100 peer counselors from its Peer Academy since the program launched in December 2021. The Peer Academy helps recruit and train community members with lived experience of mental health or substance use issues to become State-certified peer counselors, who can support behavioral health patients in hospitals and other healthcare settings. The 12-week program includes classroom and on-the-job training at NYC Health + Hospitals, and tuition is free. Peers are uniquely positioned to serve patients with complex and co-morbid mental health and substance use disorder needs, and they can connect to traditionally hard-to-reach patients by sharing their lived experience to support recovery. NYC Health + Hospitals currently employs over 100 peers across the system and is one of the largest employers of peers in New York City. Nearly 40% of the peer counselors who are employed at NYC Health + Hospitals are graduates from the Peer Academy.
Today NYC Health + Hospitals also released the story of Aidan Avery, who first came to the health system as a teenager on the autism spectrum seeking behavioral health support. Years later, Avery was one of the first graduates of the Peer Academy, and today, he works as a peer counselor at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. His story is available here.
“Our vision is to position NYC Health + Hospitals as the go-to place for careers in public behavioral health. This is why we are simultaneously prioritizing increasing our staff capacity while building the future workforce through an array of initiatives,” said Omar Fattal, MD, MPH, Deputy Chief Medical Officer and System Chief of Behavioral Health. “For individuals with lived experience who are motivated by mission-driven work, we offer an unparalleled professional opportunity to have a community impact. By growing our Peer Academy within our public hospital system, we are demonstrating our commitment to advancing the careers of aspiring Peer Counselors and building our Peer workforce capacity to better serve New Yorkers in need.”
“We are especially gratified when an individual successfully completes one of NYC Health + Hospitals’ person-centered, recovery-oriented programs, followed by advancing further, graduating from our Peer Academy and achieving successful employment in our public health care system,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Director of Peer Services, Gita Enders, LMSW, MA, NYCPS. “This inspiring trajectory is the reality for many of our Peer Academy graduates and are wonderful outcomes for the program participants, as well as for NYC Health + Hospitals.”
“The Peer Academy felt like an actual tight knit family where you didn’t have to be ostracized,” said Aidan Avery, a graduate of the Peer Academy and a peer counselor at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. “For the first time in years, I actually felt respected and like I can be myself for a change. Becoming a peer is a good opportunity. Not just for yourself but for reaching other people. It’s a good way to surround yourself with others who may not have the exact same experience, but you take the burden off of yourself and you’re not alone with what you’re going through.”
Applicants selected to participate in the Peer Academy program undergo in-person classroom and online training in mental health and addiction services, and internship rotations throughout the behavioral health system. NYC Health + Hospitals is using a variety of existing curricula to inform its Peer Academy’s training, including Peer Support for the 21st Century, which has been used successfully in Arizona and California, as well as substance use recovery training approved by the New York Certification Board, and more. Rotations include, but are not limited to, inpatient and ambulatory psychiatry, chemical dependency programs, medical emergency departments, and Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP).
Trainees are shown how to engage people in crisis and help connect them to care and navigate within the community. They are also taught how to use their lived experience appropriately for the benefit of patients while still maintaining healthy boundaries, and participate in work readiness and professional development workshops led by experienced training staff who are themselves peer practitioners. In addition to the classroom hours required for State certification, the program includes a 2-month, full-time hospital-based internship with rotations in the inpatient mental health unit, emergency department, and street outreach teams. Peer Academy staff work with interns to help them find employment for up to six months after graduation.
The Peer Academy includes the hours needed for the State certifications to become a Certified Peer Specialist for mental health and a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate for substance use. It includes over 20 hours of online workshops, 177 hours of classroom training, and 126 hours at a hospital-based internship.
Recognizing the pivotal role of peers within the system, NYC Health + Hospitals established its Peer Academy to train students who have lived experience with mental illness or substance use disorders and who may have very limited work histories. NYC Health + Hospitals offers stipends to peers who successfully complete the program, recognizing the significant time investment of a three-month training program. Graduates of the training program often become full-time employees in the health system, building patient-centered capacity to care for the patient’s behavioral, emotional and social needs.
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest provider of behavioral health in New York City. The system provides almost 60% of behavioral health services citywide serving over 75,000 patients annually across emergency, inpatient and outpatient care.
To apply for the NYC Health + Hospitals Peer Academy program, eligible New Yorkers must be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or GED/TASC, and have lived experience of a mental health or substance use challenge. Those interested and eligible can contact OBHPeerAcademy@nychhc.org. Program managers are available to assist with the application process.
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About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
