Our peer support team guides and supports participants in our adult programmes - in residential services, in custodial settings and also in our community services. They work alongside clinical teams to provide crucial support at transitional phases of your journey – for example, when you first come to stay with us or later, as you prepare to move back into the community. 

Peer support workers are people who have a lived experience of addiction and sometimes mental health distress, and they may have had experience within the justice system. What they all have in common is a way to live in active recovery, with strong whānau relationships and good connections into their community.

They walk alongside you on your journey, sharing their lived experience and how they overcame the challenges you might face. 

Odyssey has managed peer support services for Te Whare Whakapiki Wairua, the Alcohol and other Drug Treatment Court since it was established in 2012. We have seen first-hand how drawing on the wisdom of people with lived experience can inspire and support whai ora in their recovery journey. 

We developed a Peer Support Framework in 2017 and launched a peer support service in our adult residential programme in May 2018.

Peer support workers offer unique insights and coaching to support whai ora develop strategies that foster sustained recovery. By sharing how they have dealt with past trauma and overcome mental health distress or addiction challenges, they offer a visible and tangible example of the possibility of healing and moving forward.