Peer Support Strong Virtual Conference! Free & A

LERN’s & PeerWorks Feb 3rd 2026 Peer Support Strong Virtual Conference!

Please feel free to post or share this to your colleagues and community members. This conference is free, and all are welcome to attend! However, registration is required! Please click HERE to register (www.peerworks.ca/news-events/events/other-events/peer-support-strong-conference-60)

Please join us, Lived Experience & Recovery Network (LERN) and PeerWorks as we host our 6th annual Peer Support Strong Virtual Conference on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026, 9:15 am – 4:00 pm (EST).
This year’s theme, From Lived Experience to Lasting Impact, celebrates how peer support transforms individuals, organizations, and communities. It highlights the power of lived experience and how, when rooted in peer values, it leads to meaningful, measurable, and lasting change. As the field grows, peer supporters are leading the way in demonstrating that peer support works, through shared stories and collective learning, it reflects our values of mutuality, respect, and hope.

We are excited to host a variety of presentations throughout the day!
You may register for any and/or all of these presentations.

Conference Agenda

• 9:00 am – 9:15 am: Conference virtual room opens
• 9:15 am- 9:30 am: Conference begins: Opening Remarks
• 9:30 am – 10:15 am: Hayley Peek: 
  Empowering Peer Support in the Age of AI: Human Connection, Ethics, and Lived Experience
• 10:30 am – 11:15 am: Misty Thaler & Mary Ellen Ruddell
  Peer Support and Public Libraries: Organizing Peer Services Outside of Mainstream Systems
• 11:30 am – 12:15 pm: Jo Brown, Glenn Petersen, & Edward Strutzenberger:
  Lived Experience in Action: Three Voices Driving Recovery, Learning, and Lasting Impact
• 1:00 pm – 1:45 pm: Sarah Ryan & Bruno Baurin
  When Peer Supporters Design the Program: Lessons from Community-Led Co-Design
• 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm: Joseph Gladding & Elizabeth Callaghan:
  Working with Addictions and Stepping Into the Grey Areas of Best Practice: Challenging our status quo to the benefit of person-centred support
• 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm: Kim Sunderland:
  When They Don’t Get It: Navigating People and Organizations Critical of Peer Support Work
• 3:45 pm – 4:00 pm: Conference Closing

For further detail information, presenters bios, & registration, please visit: peerworks.ca/news-events/events/other-events/peer-support-strong-conference  (www.peerworks.ca/news-events/events/other-events/peer-support-strong-conference-60)

We hope for you to join us!

If you have any questions, please contact LERN and/or PeerWorks:

• LERN’s Regional Director,
  Kari Sterling: rd@livedexperience.org and/or 705-840-1818
• LERN’s Education and Support Coordinator,
  Erin Russell: e.russell@livedexperience.org and/or 249-591-1467
• PeerWorks: info@peerworks.ca