Peer supporter to serve in recovery houses in Clinton County

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Brett Duncan and Candace Moore have become certified Peer Recovery Supporters and are joining Mental Health America (MHA) of Northern Kentucky and Southwest Ohio. They will work in Clinton and Warren Counties.

Peer Recovery Supporters are individuals with personal lived experience in substance use or mental health disorders who are in recovery, and who want to give back to the community. Peer Recovery Supporters are a very important part of the recovery journey for many individuals seeking help, stated an MHA news release.

Peers not only provide emotional and spiritual support, but also inspiration and hope that recovery is possible.

“Our peers are individuals who have worked incredibly hard on their mental health or substance use recoveries and are now wanting to give back to Clinton and Warren County residents who need a helping hand,” added the release.

MHA has community relations with direct service providers in Clinton and Warren Counties and has placed its peers in multiple locations in the two counties.

Duncan will be placed in men’s recovery houses in Clinton County. He will help clients work with budgeting, identifying resources in the community, finding housing and providing support. And Duncan will assist in support groups and one-on-one meetings with clients.

Duncan said he is very excited to begin his journey as a Peer Recovery Supporter, and is eager to start giving back to the community as his own life has not always been an easy one.

Since his early teens, Duncan has struggled with depression and anxiety. He was hospitalized for the first time at 17 and diagnosed with severe depression. After being hospitalized, he continued outpatient care until he started college.

He successfully completed his bachelor’s degree in communication and remained stable for more than a decade. With the pressures of work and marriage, he began to struggle with anxiety and depression which led him to seek professional help in his early 30s.

Through the help of professionals and medication, Duncan was again able to stabilize his mental health until 2015-16. A series of health issues, deaths and other losses led to two hospitalizations and three Emergency Room visits in January and February 2017. IOP (mental health Intensive Outpatient Program) and DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) programs further assisted his recovery.

As a result of those experiences, Duncan has a strong desire to help others with both mental health and substance abuse concerns. He wants his journey of self-awareness and healing to be shared with others, and to give support to individuals who are going through a difficult time.

Candace Moore will be placed at Solutions Community Counseling and Recovery Center in Lebanon, Ohio, in Warren County. She will be assisting with support groups, open office hours, and with one-on-one meetings with clients.

Moore feels this will be a great fit for her as she has struggled with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), generalized anxiety disorder, and depression for most of her life. She said she wouldn’t have been able to succeed and be where she is now without the love and support from her family and friends.

She believes there is nothing else in the world she’d rather be doing than helping others reach recovery.

If you are interested in learning more about Peer Recovery Supporters or if you would like to learn how to become certified, please visit Mental Health America of Northern Kentucky and Southwest Ohio at www.mhankyswoh.org or send an email to MHA Program Coordinator Jenna Florence at [email protected] .

From left are Peer Recovery Supporters Brett Duncan, Lynnette Graesser, Sheldon Greene and Stacy Litz, Clinical Supervisor Lori Grant, Peer Recovery Supporter Debra West, Program Coordinator Jenna Florence and Area Director Michelle Rolf. The group gathered for the documentary showing of “The War We Ignore” at The Murphy Theatre in Wilmington.
http://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2017/11/web1_peer_support.jpgFrom left are Peer Recovery Supporters Brett Duncan, Lynnette Graesser, Sheldon Greene and Stacy Litz, Clinical Supervisor Lori Grant, Peer Recovery Supporter Debra West, Program Coordinator Jenna Florence and Area Director Michelle Rolf. The group gathered for the documentary showing of “The War We Ignore” at The Murphy Theatre in Wilmington.

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