1. Peers Fostering Hope Supported by the Dr
Peers Fostering Hope Supported by the Dr. Ed & Bobby Yielding Fund for Stroke Recovery
Learning about peer support

2. Intentions for today Get to know each other
Deepen understanding of the purpose of the training
Provide clarity around peer visitation
Discuss the characteristics of an effective peer
Clarify your roles & responsibilities as peers
Review the March of Dimes and organization application process

3. Ground Rules R – Responsible for learning O – Open to different ideas
P – Participation
E – Experimenting with thoughts, applying
what you learn
S – Sensitivity to all - civil, respectful, confidentiality
Before we get started, it is important to highlight that we need to all respect one another (this includes listening when someone else is speaking)
Everyone is responsible for their own learning
People need to be open and respectful of different thoughts and ideas that are brought forward
Participate when you feel comfortable
Confidentiality – the experiences, thoughts and emotions that are shared in the session need to be kept within the group.

4. Introductions
Share your name and one thing that you have accomplished since your stroke that you are most proud of?
If you are a caregiver, share your name and one thing you are most proud of in your role as a caregiver.

5. What is Peers Fostering Hope?
One to one, in-person hospital visitation program.
Peers are caregivers and persons with stroke who are well into their recovery and are trained in visiting those who have just had a stroke and their caregivers while they are still resident in hospital.
Peer support will help with recovery by providing hope, encouragement, and emotional support

6. Why Peer Support
It addresses an important part of health care that we know is often missing or not addressed as well as it could be
Through interviews, persons with stroke told us:
They would like peer support earlier in their recovery process
They want to feel a sense of hope
They need help navigating the healthcare system
The Toronto Stroke Networks conducted interviews in 2010 with persons with stroke and they told us that They would like peer support earlier in their recovery process
They want to feel a sense of hope
They need help navigating the healthcare system

7. Objectives of this training
Clarify your role, responsibilities and boundaries
Inform you on the processes of the peer visiting in a hospital setting
Enhance your awareness, confidence and skills in communicating and supporting persons with stroke and caregivers
Increase your knowledge and understanding of different types and aspects of stroke
Enrich your personal development in peer support.

8. Topics covered Learning about peer support
How to make the most of your visit
Stroke and its effects:
Physical
Cognitive
Communication
Emotional
Effective conversations
Ending the visit
Re-engaging into the community

9. Your hopes for the training
Pair or trio conversations
Given the objectives of the training, what are your greatest hopes for this training?
You can do this in pairs or trios or go round table. Allow about 5 minutes for this exercise and have people report back to the larger group.

10. Hopes for training
You may want to capture peoples answers on this page.
Here are some examples of what people have said in previous sessions:
How to be professional – knowing that we can’t fix everything.
Learning the stages of adjustment and the relationship with the peer.
Listening
Learning to deal with problem situations such as someone who has aphasia, who is depressed, deal with someone else’s anger.
Gain knowledge
Not being silent but need to listen!
Boundaries, learn how to interrupt ‘nicely’
Learn limitations
Finding fight
Ways to find out the meaning of impact
Give back, learn more patience
“being legal”
How to be comfortable with silence
What are some tips

11. Overview of Peer Support

12. What is Peer Support?
LISTENING to a person’s feelings and needs following a stroke
Providing emotional support
Sharing knowledge, experiences and hopes
Listening is capitalized before it is by far the most important component of effective peer support

13. Purpose of peer visiting
Helps bridge the gap between hospital and community life
Provides a sense of hope and possibility
Hope is best delivered by listening
Your presence alone with be a source of inspiration and hope
Your interaction can profoundly affect the course of recovery and the possibility for their lives
What are some other benefits?

14. Goals of Peer Support To exchange ideas and coping strategies
To share experiences and information
To give and receive emotional support and a sense of hope
To help people express feelings and know their feelings are normal
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15. Goals of Peer Support
To help people understand how they can adjust after a stroke
To help people realize they are not alone
To show, by example, that life is worth living
To show a path to recovery and reconnecting with family and community

16. Characteristics of an effective peer
What are the most important qualities of being a good peer?
Ask people to share their thoughts (popcorn style)

17. Characteristics of a Peer
LISTENS
Provides hope and optimism
Supports
Inspires
Knows the balance between helping self and others
Acknowledges
Enables self-expression and awareness
Reassures
Respects privacy, wishes, values, rights & beliefs
Other characteristics include (these are in their manual)
Pleasant Insightful Dependable
Flexible Attentive Sincere
Confidential Interested Responsive
Selfless Patient Caring
Sensitive Non-judgemental Non-directive

18. What do you see your role as a peer being?
Ask the group to say what they see their role as being. The following are some answers from peers in a previous session:
A friend that gets it
I hope it inspires me to think about my own recovery
Sharing my experience
Give them a little bit of hope
You are not alone, I’ve been there.
Help them along
For them to see an example of someone who’s been there
Provide information to empower them so they are not at a loss

19. Your role as a peer Provide hope, inspiration and optimism.
Help build trust, openness and empathy.
Accept people as they are. Respect their privacy, wishes, values, rights and beliefs
Listen, clarify and help identify choices for making decisions.
Encourage others to express their feelings.
Be patient and understanding.
You can go through what hasn’t been mentioned by the group.

20. Your role as a peer
Gives reassurance and encouragement for positive actions.
Be attentive, caring and sensitive to the feelings of others.
Be dependable.
Keep information confidential.
Realize that not all problems can be ‘fixed’ and not all people want to be helped.
Know the balance between helping self and others and is continuously learning to be increasingly self-aware.

21. Confidentiality & Non-disclosure
You must agree to maintain confidentiality
What to do when someone may be suicidal?
What do you do when you suspect abuse (be it physical, emotional, financial)?
This slide usually generates a lot of conversation. Let them know that some of this is covered in the emotional effects of stroke.
You must agree to maintain confidentiality
Includes not disclosing personal information
Exceptions to this when someone declares to harm themselves or someone else. Suspected abuse
When someone expresses suicidal ideation it is important that you listen. You are obligated to let the person with stroke know that you have to report these feelings to staff so that the right person can intervene. Tell a staff member immediately after your visit with that individual.

22. Your experience with peer support
Hearing a few stories -
Tell us about a time when someone supported you in your recovery/caregiving journey, that truly made a positive difference for you.
What specifically did they do that made the most difference?
What difference did it make?
Depending on the amount of time that is left you may want to also ask the following question:
How does this link to the role and characteristics just described?

23.
Newcastle england You Tube Video
It emphasizes the importance of receiving a certain level of education prior to going into the hospital and doing visits.

24. Closing
What is your greatest strength that you bring to the role of peer?
AND/OR
What are you most looking forward to about the peers fostering hope training?