Who are we?
Steve Miccio
Executive Director
PEOPLe, Inc.
stevemiccio@projectstoempower.org
 A peer run not for profit organization that provides
advocacy and an array of recovery centered services to
people with psychiatric labels in 7 Counties in New
York.
 Over the past 10 years PEOPLe has been developing
and practicing pro-active diversion peer run services
to assist people from crises and hospitalizations
Hospital
Home
Crisis
Crisis
Home
Hospital
 Hospital Diversion House
 Warm Line
 In-Home Peer Companionship
 Social Structure (Nights Out)
 Emergency Department Advocacy
 Clinic Advocacy

Persons seeking temporary residential care/respite
care can stay from one to five nights in a warm,
friendly, safe and supportive home-like environment
where they can learn recovery and relapse
prevention skills.

Rose House’s services are designed to help ‘at risk’
individuals to break the cycle of learned
helplessness and recidivism and to move away from
what are often long histories of cycling from home
to crisis to hospital, year after year.
In recent years, PEOPLe, Inc has developed a “warm
line” service aimed at providing phone-based crisis
support at all hours of the day and night to help people
to reduce or avoid emergency room visits or psychiatric
hospitalizations.
PEOPLe, Inc offers in-home peer companionship in the
event one does not want to leave one’s home. A Peer
Companion will visit an individual regularly at his or
her home or in the community, offering peer
support, an empathetic ear and new techniques to
help the person avoid utilizing hospital services.
 A social event in the community designed to provide
weekly activities and/or events structured by
participants. Nights Out connects people to each other
and the communities natural supports.
 As people grow socially they seem to become better
equipped to focus more on wellness activities rather
than symptom related activities.



Peers assist individuals in navigating the oftentraumatic process of being screened and
admitted/discharged to/from the hospital.
a booklet explains the process of the emergency
room screening in language aimed at providing
words of hope and support to the individual or
family.
It improves compassionate care and overall
outcomes.
 Full time Peer Advocate stationed in the clinic
 Role is to assist people in navigating the clinic services
 Assist people in developing Wellness Plans
 Educating people on how to develop recovery goals
and advocate for themselves
 Educate people on “What is Therapy” developing
expectations and personal responsibility around
recovery
Philosophy
(Culture)
Environment
Engagement
 Recovery is the expectation
 Core Values Drive behavior
 Mutual Respect
 Transparency/honesty
 The shared experience can provide hope
 Re-thinking crisis
Philosophy
 Well trained and developed Staff
Environment
Engagement
Philosophy
Environment
Engagement
 Building a trusting relationship can promote
empowerment in individuals that can lead to more
informed and self-determined decisions about ones
care and quality of life choices.
 Good engagement reduces fear of punitive actions
 Sharing stories in an open and honest environment
can make the relationship and experience more
meaningful thus possibilities for change
 Well trained and developed Staff
Philosophy
Environment
 Safe and Inviting
 Clean and home-like
 Warm greeting
 Educational materials available
 Recreational materials available
 Privacy
Engagement
Total
Total
Total
Total
Guests Served 227
Residence Days 748
Warmline Calls 1253
Off-Premises Visits 72
748 x $1,400 = $1,047,200 (Local hospital
cost)*
Rose House annual cost $264,000
Unspent Medicaid/Insurance cost $783,200
*Based on average cost of local hospitals
College of St. Rose
in Albany, NY
 The purpose of the study was to compare consumer
satisfaction with PEOPLe’s peer-run hospital diversion
program versus a traditional inpatient program.
Guests quality of life and success in coping with
mental illness as a result of their experiences in both
settings was also explored.
 Preliminary results of unpublished longitudinal study
 Year one
 Being greeted warmly
 Orientation to the program
 Non-judgmental staff
 Explanation of program
 Expectations
 Involvement in treatment planning
 Understanding of the risks/ benefits of treatment
 Use of recovery based language
 Trauma sensitive treatment
 Overall, 64% of respondents indicated that they
experienced these elements of treatment at Rose
House compared to 22% at inpatient hospital settings.
 Active listening
 Respect of clients
 Time spent with consumer
 Encouragement of interaction with peers
 Encouragement of Recovery
 Availability 24/7
 Overall 76% of the respondents indicated that the
treatment experience included the above Experiences
with Staff measures. Conversely, 32% of the
respondents indicated that in-patient settings
included these measures.
 Quality of physical environment
 Comfortable settings
 Guest private space
 Meals availability tailored to the guest schedules
 Guests ability to set their own daily schedules.
 Overall, 78% indicated Rose House has these elements
in the program compared to 18% for inpatient hospital
settings.
 Services at Rose House are more person-centered, and
less restrictive than inpatient hospitals.
 Staff is more likely to be respectful in their approach to
guests than hospital settings.
 Guests report feeling comfortable with the treatment
received, as well as the environment. They also see
peer-run programs as reducing stigma associated with
mental illness.
 Rose House alumni are socially involved, and report
satisfaction with theses activities. It appears that Rose
House guests believe that peers provide help with
recovery, companionship and feedback regarding their
mental illness. This belief is associated with increased
social involvement.
In front of de Halte House in
Eindhoven, Netherlands
The new staff in Netherlands!
Steve Miccio
Executive Director
PEOPLe, Inc.
378 Violet Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
845-452-2728
stevemiccio@projectstoempower.org
www.projectstoempower.org