Have you heard about our peer support program?
Street's Hope/Voluntad is excited to share with you a little bit about our Peer Support Program. Our team noticed there was a missing piece to our program that only people with lived experience can fill. Peer Support Professionals (PSP) became the missing piece of the puzzle.

We are happy to share some facts about what peers do and you can read more below from our own Peer Support Specialist, Leane Vasquez.
Peer Support Profesionals:
  • Bring their lived experience to their work with our program participants to foster hope and the sense that change and recovery are possible
  • Engage, inspire, and facilitate meaningful conversations that assist program participants to explore, create, and meet their own goals with respect to trauma 
  • Support program participants to work on their ability to build stability and safety through housing, employment, mental health services and other supportive services
Introducing Leane!
We had the opportunity to interview one of our Peer Support Professionals, Leane Vasquez.


She has been with us from the start of the peer support program and has really grown into her position.

We asked Leane a couple of questions about her role at Street’s Hope/Voluntad.

To read the entire interview, view our Blog Post “Hear from a Peer Support Professional”. 
1. What is a peer support professional? Can you describe the training you have gone through?

What it means for me to be a Peer Support Professional is that I'm an expert with lived experiences and I've intentionally attended the necessary training and years of trauma-informed therapy so that I can meet others who are experiencing a walk of struggle with their mental health, trauma experiences, substance use... Read More Here!

2. Describe your role at Street's Hope/Voluntad.

I am a Pioneer! The Peer Role is new to Street's Hope/Voluntad. My work is celebrated and welcomed. I get to meet survivors where they are, use some lived examples as a role model offering and share an emotional space ... Read More Here!

3. How do you help people engage in our services at SH/V?

I link, I engage, I support through validation. I share to connect in a relatable way to empower wellness and recovery. I respect, I recognize multiple paths of recovery. I demonstrate and celebrate strengths. I strive to learn about... Read More Here!

4. What are things that are most surprising to you that you have encountered with human trafficking survivors?

For me as a Peer with a variety of lived experiences, the surprise is not a surprise. I have learned about cues to look for out in the community and in a home. What is surprising is how the relation of human trafficking cues relates to so many different abuses and addiction and migrates everywhere. Cues like... Read More Here!

5. What is one impact you have seen as a peer support professional?

The closest to my heart is a story about a trans-woman (who as it has been explained to me) was not as engaged in services as she is now. Although she may not be as self-sufficient as she may want or need to be, she attends groups, meets for Peer Services, and is consistent in communication with me. She had found herself in a place of... Read More Here!
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