Spring WRAP is a 2-hour workshop that serves as an introductory or refresher workshop to W.R.A.P. It discusses wellness tools and wellness planning as we are approaching spring and returning to in-person activities. We are offering 3 different sessions:

DrinkSmart has developed an Ontario-wide campaign to support the important community message to always drive sober.

Campaign: drivesober.ca
Contest Dates: March 1  - 25, 2022

This campaign is designed to be peer-led. Your community/student groups can use the eToolKit, resources, $1,000 contest, and creative assets to create your own outreach and start the conversations directly with your community.

The Centre for Innovation in Peer Support (embedded in Support House) broke new ground in 2021 with the introduction of several new programs and opportunities for both our community and provincial partners.

Do you have an idea for a webinar related to the field of Peer Support? Would you like to share your knowledge and experience on a particular topic?   Ontario Peer Development Initiative is proud to produce monthly webinars for our membership and the larger Peer Support Community, and we are currently inviting proposals for future webinars.  

We are happy to announce the upcoming "WRAP® for the holidays" virtual workshop. The workshop is for those interested in using Wellness Recovery Action Plan® (WRAP®) as a mental health recovery tool. It will give a good insight into the WRAP® program how it can be used for challenges that might come up during the holiday.

The OPDI team is excited to partner again with Lived Experience & Recovery Network (LERN) and CMHA North Bay and District to bring you our 2nd Annual Peer Support Strong Conference - a full day celebration of the power of Peer Support. This year’s conference will be held on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 and themed around Celebrating Peers and Your Achievements!

This 90-minute webinar offers a safe and welcoming space to connect with others and hear inspiring personal stories of resilience, recovery, and hope.  Speakers from our Peer Talk program share their experiences with mood disorders and with supporting loved ones who have mental health challenges.

See attached our schedule for the month ahead.  https://www.paywhatyoucanpeersupport.com/

We run this group virtually every Friday at 7pm ET. Please help to send to your clients who may be interested.

https://www.paywhatyoucanpeers...d-obsessive-thoughts

The RECOVER-E project launched a successful webinar on the 14th of October in which a diverse set of topics about peer workers was discussed. The first session covered among other things Human Rights, equality, equity, and lived experience in mental health (care). The second session focused on personal stories from peer workers and professionals about working in a community mental health team, challenges and opportunities, and how the work will be sustained after the project ends.

This is one of our newest groups. It's for those who work in the Mental Health Space like therapists, social workers, counsellors, life coaches and anyone else. For those experiencing burnout or who want to connect with others in their industry to talk about marketing, patient challenges or anything else.

https://www.paywhatyoucanpeersupport.com/mental-health-worker-support-group

Join OPDI for our 3rd instalment in our August Speaker Series, on August 26, 2021. Marc Carroll will be sharing his story of lived experience with disabilities of a physical and mental health nature. He is an advocate for the independent living movement, and a writer, having written books and self published them. He has had to take them down due to harassment, but still persists in pursuing his dreams. Marc also uses his artwork to bring attention to these important issues of ableism and mental health.

Stop Drop and Talk is a drop-in peer support group for youth and young adults aged 14-29 who are affected by mood disorders and related challenges, that are led by youth and young adult facilitators.  

Our aim is to empower and provide youth with all the support they need to manage their mental health challenges, to make sure they know they are not alone in a safe inclusive space for fun and connection.

CMHA Durham's Recovery College Wellness Centre has launched Over|Thinking, a monthly podcast discussing mental health produced and hosted by individuals with lived experience.

The latest episode is titled: Crawling focusing on the lived experience of successfully managing Anxiety. Check it out HERE.

Everyday but especially during the pandemic, you, our Mental Health Professionals open your hearts and minds to listen to us, to help ease our mental suffering and to help us to
heal and to become whole. But, unfortunately, your hard work may
have come at a cost: compassion fatigue & exhaustion.

ALTERNATIVES 2021

CONNECTING, ORGANIZING, ACTIVATING!

The National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery is excited to announce the 35th annual Alternatives Conference, to be held virtually over four non-consecutive days:

Thursday July 8th, Saturday July 10th, Thursday July 15th, and Saturday July 17th.

Hard Feelings Mental Health is offering a virtual peer support and self care group for mental health workers and therapists:

We have hard jobs; let's talk about. This group provides a safe, facilitated space to get the support you need, from people who really get it.

Peer support group facilitated by Hailey Goldberg MSW, RSW.

Please share news of our survey in your networks.

**Un message en français suivra**

So many of our siblings with disabilities are living in or near poverty. The Sibling Collaborative, wants to help you improve the financial security of your sibling with a disability – both today and in the future.

But in order to create relevant resources on topics like financial planning, disability benefits, estate planning and communicating with your family, we need your input.