The Expansion of the Peer Adviser Workforce
Opportunities and Challenges for Social Work
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11957307 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Emma Tseris (0000-0001-5704-4598, The University of Sydney, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 162-174 |
| Publication date | 2019-10-27 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Australian Social Work (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0312-407X • E-ISSN: 1447-0748 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0312407x.2019.1675734 |
| OpenAlex | W2982445797 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 14 |
| References cited | 23 |
Peer adviser roles are becoming an increasingly common—and celebrated—aspect of agencies where social workers are located. This article reports on a qualitative research study exploring the experiences of staff within a homelessness outreach service in which three peer advisers (people with a lived experience of homelessness) commenced employment. Drawing on action research principles, the study explored the experiences of the peer advisers and the broader team following the introduction of the peer adviser roles. Themes identified include, realising the skills of peer advisers, defining the role, taking a “whole of team” approach, and reflecting on power. This study demonstrates that the introduction of peer adviser roles into human service organisations is a promising strategy for creating services that are more likely to respond effectively to the needs of service users. However, social workers need to be aware of the pitfalls of tokenism and the devaluing of experiential knowledge.IMPLICATIONS Peer advisers in health and welfare agencies add significant benefits to an agency’s capacity to respond to the needs of service users.The introduction of the peer workforce is aligned to social work values of service user empowerment and the valuing of experiential knowledge.In order to avoid tokenism, the introduction of peer adviser roles should be supported by both the attitudes and actions of other staff members, as well as organisational support structures
Agency (philosophy · Business · Empowerment · Experiential knowledge · Human services · Pedagogy · Peer mentoring · Political science · Public relations · Service (business · Sociology · Tokenism · Workforce · Workforce development · Homelessness and Social Issues · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work · Marketing
Peer workers as icing on the cake or re-defining the recipe? Outcomes from exploring peer work with social work students
The integration of service user perspectives in social work student supervision
Peer and lay health work for people experiencing homelessness
Operationalizing the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to build and support the lived experience workforce in direct health service provision
Homeless services workers with lived experience
Responding to a Crisis
Service Users in Social Work Student Supervision
Exploring the conceptualization, operationalization, implementation, and measurement of outreach in community settings with hard-to-reach and hidden populations
Harnessing the Lived Experience of Transgender and Gender Diverse People as Practice Knowledge in Social Work
Mental Health Service Staff on Sharing Lived Experience in the Workplace
Consumer participation in homelessness service delivery in Australia
You Just Treat me like a Human Being’
Bearing Witness
Three Men Walk into a Karaoke Bar, a Politician, a Religious Leader, and a Billionaire
Peer Support for the Hardly Reached
Governing Homelessness
Peer support critical elements and experiences in supporting the homeless
The mental health peer worker as informant
Understanding paid peer support in mental health
Responses to Homelessness in Australian Cities
Consumer participation at Specialist Homelessness Services
Experts by Experience
An Exploration of Factors that Effect the Implementation of Peer Support Services in Community Mental Health Settings
Implementing Peer-Assisted Case Management to Help Homeless Veterans with Mental Illness Transition to Independent Housing
Thematic networks
| Citations per year | 2.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2020 - 2026 (7) |
| Highly cited | No |