KEEPING RECOVERY ALIVE – WOW! (WELLNESS OUTREACH WORKER PROGRAM)

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Recovery Model is based on the concept people with serious mental illness can and do recover, with peer support providing an essential element of the recovery process. In 2011, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) Adult System of Care (ASOC) implemented an innovative project, the Wellness Outreach Worker (WOW) program, incorporating peer support services in a meaningful way to complement and extend traditional clinical care services WOW offers a supported volunteer role for Department of Mental Health (DMH) consumers, - a unique opportunity to provide invaluable peer support services at directly-operated LACDMH adult mental health centers. WOW volunteers use their lived experience to function as role models and mentors to their peers. Some 437 volunteers have received specialized, continuous training and supervision to provide recovery-focused and supportive services. In 2015, WOW volunteers provided 11,089 volunteer days of service in 18 programs and 15 community locations. WOW volunteers offer a flexible augmentation to traditional mental health treatment, providing extra help where needed and offering an important peer perspective to adult service delivery. WOW volunteers are uniquely qualified through their lived experience to promote hope and trust, enhancing the well-being, quality of life, and resilience among client recipients.