The Wayne County Veterans Service Agency is seeking proposals for the operation and development of a NYS PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Peer-to-Peer Support Program and to provide a full time Veteran Peer to Peer Coordinator to engage veterans and their families in the activities of the project.
The purpose of this service is to provide Veteran support services and programs by Veterans for Veterans.
Rather than replicating traditional clinical support services (e.g., counseling or therapy), Dwyer programs offer non-clinical peer delivered supports. The Dwyer programming should gain and maintain an awareness of, and a referral pathway to, clinical mental health services in their area of operations. In doing so, Dwyer programs will be able to make high-quality “warm handoff” referrals when necessary to clinical mental health or substance abuse services for veterans who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis. Through its focus on natural and organic peer support, veterans who may not be comfortable with engagement in professional systems of care can still benefit from the Dwyer Program. It is the peer-based, creative and nontraditional aspects of Dwyer services that makes them truly unique and a special avenue for veteran engagement and community-building.
