PeerGalaxy: Oregon's Portal to Virtual Peer Support

This is an excerpt from an article titled “An Incredible Galaxy of Peer Support Offerings,” originally published by Laura Rose, MPA, NFPM for Trauma Informed Oregon on June 9th, 2020.
See the full story here.

Connecting with an individual having lived experience who can listen, understand, relate and grow with us wherever we are in our journey is what we call Peer Support. Wellness is an active dynamic process of change and growth, becoming aware and making choices towards a healthy and fulfilling life.1 Acceptance, belonging, purpose and hope are keys to recovery and wellness. PeerGalaxy Calendar’s menu of diverse offerings affords ingredients for recipes of fellowship and discovery.

This spring, the PeerGalaxy Calendar was launched with a vision and goal to identify and provide real-time access to a rich menu of telephone and online peer support and wellness activities available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, FREE or pay-as-you-can sliding scale.

Who is the PeerGalaxy Calendar for? Anyone seeking recovery from pandemic stress, emotional distress, grief, mental health, addictions, co-occurring substance use challenges and/or trauma.

At this time, my circumstances frequently vary throughout the day making it difficult if not impossible to attend community-based support groups, drop-in centers or other activities on a regular basis, especially in person. Sometimes the only option for external communication is by way of a smartphone device on the bed next to me, using the hands-free speakerphone, voice commands, and dictation when I cannot sit up, for example. The flexibility and accessibility afforded by on-demand, real-time access to peer support can be life-saving, life-sustaining, and life-changing. Peer telehealth offers many opportunities to overcome barriers, to address needs and gaps, to leverage resources, to increase workforce utilization and to improve life-quality.

The members of the Tools, Technology and Access Committee including myself, became strong advocates and champions for expanding sustainable peer telehealth in Oregon, voicing a call to action, sharing recommendations, evidence reports and other insights. Through further advocacy and collaboration with partners, advancements towards widespread adoption were progressing before the pandemic outbreak. Necessity accelerated this work faster than the speed of thought. Thankfully, our visionary partners supported the proposal for development and capacity building put forward for this project.

Immediately, trauma-informed people with lived experience across Oregon stepped up to offer telephone and online peer support in response as the pandemic unfolded, and fortunately many of Oregon’s peer-run organizations successfully made the “pivot” to online meetings, remote work from home while sheltering in place, establishing warmlines and other resources. Still, the uncertainties have been daunting to navigate, even the rationing of toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Many families and individuals are having to cope with a loss or decrease of employment, delays of promised payments, business closures, school and childcare closures, quarantines, and much more out of our control.

One counter-measure to the uncertainty was establishing and maintaining a daily routine which afforded grounding and social connection thanks to the devotion and kindness of peers, online meetings were offered every morning at 8 a.m. for check-in and every evening for wind-down at 10 p.m. by people willing to navigate the uncertainty together during the first month. Twice daily, Mental Health and Addictions Association of Oregon (MHAAO) offered online meetings of Peer Support for Peer Supporters creating a safe space to discharge, process, and center, counter-measures to potential compassion fatigue, burnout, vicarious trauma, delayed grief, and other stress responses. Overnight, groups formed such as IN IT Together: Pandemic Stress Support Community and the Surviving Race Caring Community Peer Support Network which brought many hours of online meetings with special guests to discuss hot topics at the intersection of injustice, disability, and human rights, addressing populations facing great risk in facilities (jails, prisons, state hospitals, inpatient units, nursing homes, etc.). But that was just the beginning!

Growing every day, the peer support and wellness offerings in the PeerGalaxy Calendar total over 6,400+ (~200 per day) so far plus over 4,650+ hours of combined telephone peer support available through warmlines, some having multiple operators available simultaneously. Visitors can connect with someone live almost any time of the day, and if for some reason no-one is available to answer in person, links to videos and forums are available. In May, the PeerGalaxy Calendar had over 73 thousand shares/impressions, 9 thousand visitors, 90 thousand page views, and close to 1 quarter million hits.

People have been reaching out to us, sharing how this resource brings them greater hope in humanity and easy access to peer support connections through this pandemic.

We have witnessed increased participation by individuals from other regions, states or countries, and, vice versa: Oregonians welcomed in online meetings by organizations outside of Oregon—building bridges for enriched conversations and collaborations.

With over 1,700 wellness activity offerings, the range is broad: breathwork, guided art, movement, dance, chair yoga, meditation, music jams, book clubs, peer dialogs, and more. A multitude of diverse peer support offerings are available such as warmlines, recovery meetings, grief and bereavement support, and more.

Events are searchable by keywords or phrases known as “tags” such as “grief” or through the search bar at the top of every page. An accessibility button and translate button have been added as well.

Our team is working to add information from further mappings, especially for specific cultures, life stages and circumstances. More events and offerings in the calendar afford greater choice and opportunity. With different facilitators, settings, times and milieu, the quality of meaningful interpersonal connections and experiences can improve. For example, a larger group can offer a greater measure of anonymity which may bring comfort to some, yet for others might be overwhelming. On the other hand, some find more comfort with reduced exposure and increased attention in a smaller group.

At many of the events, the structure of meetings has a check-in when people can share about their individual and collective struggles; often others participating respond with validation, empathy, compassion, understanding, insights, resources, and/or support; just realizing that one is not alone in suffering or struggle or that someone else cares and understands can bring a measure of relief. Facilitators often have the chance to refer people and follow up if their needs exceed what the group can offer. Knowledge of such resources and supports even if not fully exercised can bring a measure of confidence and reassurance that a safety net exists, reducing stress. For some, having accountability with another individual or group is a particularly meaningful driver. Often groups are building in extra unstructured time at the end for individuals to socialize after the structured portion of meetings finish. For some, avoiding the costs, barriers, and stress related to transportation has improved the quality of their interactions to the point there has been hope and demand for telehealth options to continue long after this pandemic situation eases.

Overall, the offerings on the PeerGalaxy Calendar may facilitate comfort, hope, connection, social inclusion and solidarity, personal growth, accountability, resilience, and wellness in light of the current pandemic and the evolving new normal.

As explained in the Privacy Statement and Terms of Use for the website, the offerings are not a substitute for professional advice of any kind from qualified professionals but are shared as a courtesy. The multi-lingual, toll-free National Disaster Distress Hotline staffed by counselors available 24/7, featured at the top of the calendar.

The PeerGalaxy Calendar website features a page with Coronavirus / COVID-19 Specific Resources plus a Peer Telehealth Resources List for peers and organizations interested in starting an online group or service.

What’s next? Our team is currently working on testing and migrating to version 2.0 of the PeerGalaxy Calendar with added features for improved user experience. We plan to offer training for interested volunteers after the switch to 2.0. In the meantime, each week, offerings are being identified and added to the calendar. Promotion and search engine optimization are also underway. Based on feedback, we plan to add a multimedia welcome message and handout.

We hope you find the PeerGalaxy Calendar and website to be a valuable resource to share with your neighbors and networks.

Check it out at: https://www.PeerGalaxy.com/calendar