Peer Respite Homes

“Traditional mental health crisis services are often a study in what not to do. At a time when people need the support of family and friends, they are often isolated in hospital emergency departments and psychiatric units, forced onto medications they do not want or need by doctors who do not know them and deprived of various personal rights.” SAMHSA

Peer respite homes are places of safety and comfort for people going through an emotional crisis or severe emotional distress who do not want to be hospitalized. In these nurturing environments people are given the support they need in order to navigate their crisis in a safe environment without being labeled or medicated but rather being heard and given new understanding for a way to move forward with tools for recovery. Homes are run by compassionate, trained peer supporters who have lived experience of their own traumas and mental health issues. Guests come on a volunteer basis and generally stay for a maximum of two weeks, with support being available 24 hours a day. With non-judgemental, trusting, and empathic relationships that are built during an individual’s stay, they are able to develop new coping skills given by people who have traveled a similar path.

Many peer-run respite homes are funded by the state and are proving to be a more financially viable option, with the average cost of a psychiatric hospital for one week being $ 5,707 compared to $ 434 per week in a respite center. “As part of cost containment and transition to a recovery-oriented system, we can expect such alternatives to increase and prevalence, and to be further studied and eventually standardized’. SAMHSA

“Parachute is a really good example for us to follow,” says Russell Razzaque, associate medical director at the North East London NHS trust who is leading the UK program. “The numbers in Finland look great, but Parachute in New York shows it works in a demographic that’s more similar to the one we work in.” The Guardian

Respect for the person and their views regarding what is beneficial to them, without resorting to coercion is a stark contrast from traditional hospital settings and is proving to be the more beneficial option. In hospitals, people are denied the right to choose their own treatment whereas in respite homes people are regarded as experts in their own recovery and therefore fully capable of making these decisions. Additional benefits of these homes are that people are able to break the cycle of learned hopelessness often resulting from hospitalizations, as well as a reduction in stigma associated with mental health issues.