Afiya Peer Respite: Creating Alternatives to Hospitalization
Sunday, July 11, 2021, 10-12AM PDT
Afiya Peer Respite first opened its doors in August, 2012. It is the first peer respite in Massachusetts, and remains one of only a handful of respites of this kind across the country. The respite strives to provide space in which each person can find the balance and support needed to turn a difficult time into a learning and growth opportunity. Recently recognized in the World health Organization’s (WHO) “practice guidance document on community based mental health services promoting human rights and recovery,” Afiya consistently aims to center choice, dignity, and self-determination in all that is offered as it supports people to make meaning of their experiences and explore how they walk through the world.
This talk will focus on
- The basic components that make ‘peer respite’ what it is
- Important lessons learned as Afiya nears its first decade in existence
- Impacts and outcomes of Afiya and peer respites across the nation
Sera Davidow is the Director of the Wildflower Alliance (formerly known as the Western Mass Recovery Learning Community) which serves as home to Afiya. She wrote the original grant proposal that helped bring Afiya into being, and has been involved through all its ups and downs ever since. Sera is also the primary author of, ‘The Peer Respite Handbook: A Guide to Understanding, Building, and Supporting Peer Respites,’ and co-produced the short film, “Afiya House,’ which serves as an educational tool on the concept of peer respites overall.
Livestreamed on zoom
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