Promoting Success in Agriculture for People with Disabilities and their Families
Peer Support, Supporters, and
those Supported
Your State AgrAbility Project Peer Support Training
Date
Learning Objectives
• To increase understanding of peer support
• To recognize the personal traits,
characteristics, and value of peer support
volunteers
• To understand the benefits of peer support
for the volunteers and the recipients
Definition
• PEER (pir) n.
1. A person who has equal standing with another,
such as in age, gender, disability, and life
experiences
2. Archaic. A companion; fellow
A Peer is someone who may or may not be like us
in obvious ways, but is someone with whom we
share a basic humanity, uniqueness, or experience
Attributes of a Peer Support Volunteer
•
•
•
•
•
•
Positive attitude and regard for self others
Genuineness
Empathy
Respect
Acceptance of differences
Intention to be of service to another
Personal Characteristics and Skills
• Listening from the heart
 Keeping an open heart
 Willing to be touched by another
 Willing to engage
with another
person's emotions
Personal Characteristics and Skills
• Speaking from the heart
 speaking authentically
 honest self-expression
• Acting from the heart in service to another
person
 acting based on compassion, caring, and an intention to be of
service to another
What is Peer Support?
Peer Support…
A system of giving and receiving help founded
on key principles of respect, shared
responsibility, and mutual agreement of what is
considered to be helpful.
…Is Empathy
• Understanding another’s situation
• Sharing experiences of emotional and
psychological challenges
• Offering understanding and support
…Is Listening
• Sharing one’s story with a good listener
• Having one’s story validated by another
…Is Supporting
• Providing emotional support
• Encouraging the person to find ways to solve
problems - safely
…Is Learning Independence
• Affirming ideas and plans of action to solve
problems
• Modeling successful coping strategies
• Developing a healthy relationship to grow into
being healthy and independent again
Peer Support Can
• Help individuals improve functioning
• Increase life satisfaction and restore self-esteem
• Restore self-esteem
• Provide healthy interactions with others and reduce
isolation
• Increase optimism about the future and help a person
reach personal goals
Peer Support Can
• Provide a safe place to gain information and
express concerns
• Offer companionship, friendship, and a sense of
community
• Offer reassurance and help person decrease
uncertainty and anxiety
Benefits for Peer Support Volunteer
• A feeling of self-worth and accomplishment
comes from contributing to the well being of
another and the community
• “Inspiring” others often inspires the Peer Support
Volunteer
• Interpersonal and communication skills are
improved
• Satisfaction comes from seeing a peer achieve a
greater level of independence and self-sufficiency
Benefits to the Peer Supported
• Receives encouragement to plan ahead,
problem solve and take sensible risks
• Often is motivated to do things previously
thought as impossible
• Observes a positive attitude and healthy
coping strategies to




become involved with community life
deal with red tape
make modifications or accommodations to work and home
learn self-advocacy skills
And….
• Acquires a role model who enhances self-worth
and provides a sense of identification by
reducing isolation and separation.
The concept of Peer Support has
been used with….
• Blind people
• Women with breast
cancer
• Expectant mothers
• Alcohol and drug
addictions
• People in conflict
• Students with disabilities
• Victims of abuse
• Parents of sexually
abused children
• Individuals with AIDS
• Amputees
An AgrAbility Peer Support
Volunteer is…
…a farmer/ rancher who has worked through
the hardships of acquiring a disability and
has come through more optimistic,
independent, still farming!
Why AgrAbility Peer Support?
• “Rural residents rely on neighbors, family
members, and friends to meet many critical
needs.”
• “Rural residents are less likely to ask for help
from formal services than urban residents.”
• More than 80% of rural residents reported
helping a neighbor
The AgrAbility
Peer Support Volunteer will…
…informally talk or meet with a
farmer or rancher with a disability to listen
and to share experiences and information.
Promoting Success in Agriculture for People with Disabilities and their Families