Find support, hope and encouragement.
Support from friends and family is important, but sometimes talking to someone who has gone through similar life circumstances can be the most significant way to improve wellbeing.
The Peer Mentor program offers free supportive services to community members in Claremont, La Verne and Pomona. Made up of a culturally diverse team of individuals, peer mentors are trained to listen to people who are looking for support and help them feel that they are not alone. Through their own lived experiences, peer mentors are uniquely qualified to offer encouragement, guidance and hope to their peers (i.e. mentees). For every individual they meet with, the role of peer mentors is to listen, help identify strengths and areas of need, identify supports and suggests resources to help address mentee concerns. Services are offered in a variety of languages and include confidential one-on-one mentoring. Due to COVID-19, Peer Mentor support is currently provided over the phone.
BECOME A PEER MENTOR
Are you interested in providing mental wellbeing support to individuals? Looking to gain hands-on experience in community mental health? To apply, applicants must:
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- Be 18 years of age or older
- Be connected with the Tri-City service area of Claremont, La Verne or Pomona
- Clear a background check. This includes Live Scan fingerprinting for criminal background check, drug and alcohol screening and Tuberculosis (TB) testing
- COVID-19 Vaccination: Tri-City is a public behavioral health care agency in which our personnel, including employees, interns, and volunteers, are required to show proof of vaccination and booster, if eligible, or have an approved exemption. Peer Mentors are required to submit proof of vaccination and booster, if eligible, or may request an exemption under our Mandatory COVID-19 policy.
- Be available to attend mandatory bi-weekly meetings and meet regularly with assigned mentee(s)
- Fulfill a program commitment of at least one year. The Peer Mentor program runs annually beginning in September.
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NEED A PEER MENTOR?
This free service is available to individuals ages 16 and older who are connected with the cities of Claremont, La Verne or Pomona and who do not meet criteria for higher level of care. Talk to a peer mentor about a variety of topics such as stress, relationships, feeling isolated or any other areas you want to address.
Referral forms can be completed and submitted to p2p@tricitymhs.org. Once the referral is reviewed and meets program requirements, mentees are matched with a peer mentor for ongoing support, as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Peer mentors are trained volunteers who complete a 9 month training to support community members in Tri-City’s service area. Mentors are not licensed clinical experts and cannot give advice or medical diagnosis. They are able to offer feedback and suggest resources to address specific mentee concerns.
No. Our services are provided at no cost to community members. This is made possible through funding from the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA/Prop 63).
No. However, peer mentors are able to meet in public spaces within Claremont, La Verne and Pomona.
Please contact us for languages we currently offer support in.
Confidentiality and privacy is extremely important to us. We want to ensure that the people we support, as well as peer mentors, feel comfortable and confident sharing personal information and experiences. With the exception to mandating reporting guidelines, all shared information is kept in confidence during mentee sessions, as well as during mentor supervision.
Over the course of 9 months, Peer Mentors are trained on a wide range of skills to enhance their ability to connect and appropriately support mentees. Examples include empathetic active listening, communication skills, healthy boundaries, Mental Health First Aid (MHSA), self-care, suicide prevention and how to work with various populations.
Mentees should identify goals for the peer mentor relationship, be open to feedback and take an active role throughout their involvement. If a mentor feels like a mentee would be better matched with another mentor, staff will take an active role in assisting both the mentor and the mentee.