Workforce development

The primary role of a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) is to provide mutual support using their own mental health experience to advocate with and empower individuals in supporting their own goals, passions, hopes, and dreams to create the life they want.

CPSs support people in connecting to wider networks of resilience and support, whether that be other mental health providers or any other organization that might go beyond mental health services. CPSs always advocate for an individual to participate in their community of choice.

Unlike other human services professions, through Peer Support, CPSs are open about their own experiences with mental and emotional health, and/or trauma recovery so that they can inspire hope towards building a meaningful and successful life.

CPSs often work in but not of the system—bringing the lived perspective of recovery into traditional service settings while maintaining their unique role as advocates for choice, autonomy, and self-determination. In this way, peer specialists act as change agents, helping to transform systems and communities to be more inclusive, values-driven, and person-centered.

At Kiva Centers, several core components contribute to Peer Workforce Development, ensuring that peer specialists are supported, trained, and empowered to deliver high-quality, values-driven peer services.