false
Catalog
Peer Supported Reentry Program for Incarcerated In ...
Presentation Q&A
Presentation Q&A
Back to course
[Please upgrade your browser to play this video content]
Video Transcription
So, I want you both to know that the chat board has been filled with people who've been just really pleased with the presentation. And I think more than anything, impressed with what you're doing in Nebraska. It's really incredible. A lot of people are saying that they wish they had such a comprehensive program where they live. So one thing that came up was, someone said, the law enforcement training that you're doing in Nebraska is so impressive and so necessary. How can we replicate or get started on a relationship with our police in our community? You know, that has been such a long process. I think the best thing for folks, like right now, I have people from other states, law enforcement officers, calling here and talking to our law enforcement. So it's a whole lot easier to talk to another officer and understand what we do and believe in what we do if it's coming from somebody, you know, another officer. It was difficult, but the main thing that we were able to do was find a couple of people, police captains and sergeants, who were trying to figure out how to serve folks with mental health issues so they weren't continuously going out to their house. And then being able to talk about what that looks like. Once they started seeing results, and in all honesty, we, you know, bribed them. We gave them, you know, if you made a referral, we'll give you a coupon for food. And we did all kinds of things. But once they started to see that it worked, that's when, you know, now we don't have, we get so many referrals that they just know it works. Yeah, I mean, there's something that was so poignant and so revealing about the email where it's like, and by the way, she has a cat named Ollie, where it like just shows you the kind of level of care and patience and that these police officers know what's important to look for now when they go to these visits. And then they relay that to you, you know, sort of a warm handoff. That's pretty incredible to see. Yeah, and we see it all the time. I used to hear, you know, how, you know, what a jerk that officer was, or, you know, this, that and the other. And now I hear that officer was so kind to me. I'm so glad they connected us with these resources. Right. I mean, I think the other thing that we're hearing, you know, today with the unrest across the country, that I thought was so interesting when I saw your picture of the new recruits, was that some people have been saying, well, we're never going to be able to change attitudes around mental health or around race. If the old guys, the old police officers are the ones who are training the young ones, you know, and so I thought it was really great that you just continue with each new class. You clearly orient them over and over and over again. Yes. And most of the folks now, because we've been doing it for 11 years, it's just, it's common knowledge to them when they leave the academy, who we are, what we do and how we can provide a service to them. We've also just started training the Lancaster County Sheriff's Department. So they've expanded it, not only the city of Lincoln, but the entire county. One question came in that was specific to peers, but not specific to dealing, to working with those who've previously been incarcerated. So I hope you'll forgive this, but can you just speak for a little bit about how you train individuals to be peer support supervisors? So how do you, I mean, clearly you've been doing it for a long time, but how do you relay the skills to be a supervisor of other peers? I guess I, you know, the peers that are in my super, I have nine peers in supervisory positions that work underneath me, and they each are assigned to a program. So like three of them are assigned to HONU, one oversees KIA, REAL, that type of thing. And to be honest with you, a lot of times peer run organizations have a hard time keeping their staff. Those staff have been with me for 10, 13 years. And so we grew together as a management team, as the organization grew. We do have, you know, a way to train those peers. There's a curriculum, and we, again, talk about how to supervise peers. There is a formal process to it, but it's in PowerPoints, but a lot of it is we're still providing now peer support to those that we're managing, and they're providing peer support to the individuals that we serve. Right. And Patrick, haven't you done a presentation on this? Yeah, and I'm sorry, Casey, but I just wanted to say, and you touched on this too, is that the way that I've had the most success in the programs that I've worked with is exactly that, where it kind of grows like a family. Everybody works together in the beginning, then you begin to divide into different areas as your programs get broader, and people who are very good rise to the top, take on a little more responsibility. Eventually our organizations grow into full-fledged businesses that are operated with supervisors and administrators and all of those things. But the most success with peer support supervisors that I've seen are people who've done peer support themselves, they've experienced, you know, what it is that they're going to be talking to a person about so that they can be of assistance. In my mind, the major role of a supervisor is to help a person learn to do what they do even better. Yep. Right. And I was just thinking, I think, Patrick, you have done a previous webinar on peer supervision, other trainings on that that are available on the SMI Advisor catalog. So if the individual is interested in finding out more, they can always search the smiadvisor.org website and look for some of our previous learning there. One last question I wanted, if you could just talk about just very briefly, which is someone asked, so how does a case manager connect with a peer specialist and how do they avoid a dual relationship with them? For example, if they also are a case manager for that peer? I guess I've not ever had where you would have a case manager working alongside a peer that they're also managing. What we do is we have another organization that we collaborate with that does provide case management and intensive case management. And if somebody that we're working with as in peer support needs that additional level of care, we talk to that individual and make that referral. So we keep that pretty separate. One of the things that comes up in particularly rural communities where you have very small organizations that might only have a few peers working and only perhaps a couple of case managers, then you may have that situation arise. It's not a good relationship where the case manager is working alongside the peer specialist that they're also providing case management to. But in small towns, sometimes these things are unavoidable and you have to work with it very specifically. The key to it is complete openness and frankness and being able to talk about what are my goals as your case manager and how do we work together in the same organization. It's difficult, but it can be done. And like I say, in rural communities, sometimes it's all you can do. Right. I appreciate that. Well, thank you both.
Video Summary
In this video, two individuals discuss the success of the mental health training program for law enforcement officers in Nebraska. They mention that the program has received positive feedback from participants and has been replicated in other states. The program focuses on training officers to better understand and assist individuals with mental health issues, resulting in improved relationships with the community. The speakers highlight the importance of peer support in training individuals to become supervisors and discuss the growth and success of their organization in providing peer support. They also touch upon the challenges of maintaining boundaries between case managers and peer specialists. The video ends with a mention of additional resources available on the SMI Advisor website.
Keywords
mental health training program
law enforcement officers
Nebraska
peer support
SMI Advisor website
Funding for SMI Adviser was made possible by Grant No. SM080818 from SAMHSA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, SAMHSA/HHS or the U.S. Government.
×
Please select your language
1
English