We’re working towards
opening a Peer Respite
What is a Peer Respite
A Peer Respite is a short-term residential program for adults to prevent the escalation of mental health symptoms. The facility is typically a residential house with enough space to host no more than 5 people at a time, with accessible bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, and 1-2 common spaces.
Peer Respites are non-clinical, staffed exclusively by people with lived experience of having severe & persistent mental illness as well as
- Experience making great strides in improving their mental health
- A desire to help others like themselves
- Training to provide support services that are evidence-based and trauma-informed
The Guest Experiece…
Admission
Adults in Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham counties will be eligible. Guests are people with mental illness who are in need of more support than usual, but do not need inpatient or partial inpatient psychiatric care. Additionally, services can be utilized by people stepping down from inpatient hospitalization.
Services
Much flexibility is offered to guests in terms of how they want to utilize the space to move away from crisis. Staff can provide comfort and guidance to guests while they are coping with the difficult thoughts and emotions that brought them in. Guests can get help signing up for health insurance, benefits, therapy, psychiatry, primary care, case management, or anything else they come to decide would ease them away from crisis, fill in gaps in their basic needs, and further strengthen their mental health once they leave The Nest. Additionally, they’ll have access to in-house Peer Support and Community Health Worker services, support groups, workbooks, and computers.
Even after they leave The Nest, guests will continue to have access to our Peer Support and Community Health Worker services to make further progress on their mental health goals.
Confinement
Guests are not restricted to the confines of the house and, although rest is a crucial component of the de-escalation process, guests are encouraged to leave The Nest for appointments or meetings. They can also leave to feed their pets, grab comfort food items from the store, or anything else that makes their visit more pleasant.
Accessibility
The Nest will seek out a residential house with a first floor consisting of at least 1 bedroom and 1 full bathroom for use by guests with limited mobility. Staff will do some transports for guests who would otherwise not be able to get to/from The Nest. The cost to operate a Peer Respite is a fraction of the cost of other crisis care services and residential programs, allowing The Nest to pass those savings onto guests, making services free or highly cost effective when they’re not free.
Our vision for The Nest is to operate it as similarly as possible to the Peer Respites across the US whose services are universally accessible & affordable
Additionally, we hope to achieve positive outcomes pertaining to…
- Improving the negative symptoms that bring guests in
- Preventing suicide & self harm
- Diverting unwarranted hospitalization and interaction with police
- Addressing broader health or social issues during their stay
- Fostering safe & dignified guest experiences
All of the above are possible because Peer Respites cost significantly less to operate than other crisis care services, present a fully autonomous crisis care option among the care continuum, and help break the cycle of life-disrupting events that often keep people in crisis.
See what others say
about Peer Respites
