The Role of the Peer Worker in Supporting Community Re-entry

This two-day, 7.5-hour virtual training from the Leadership Training Institute is designed to prepare peer workers to use their lived experience to assist clients through the transition from a criminal justice setting back into their communities. The training reviews competencies related to supporting others with community re-entry, such as housing, social support, stigma, tasks of daily living, and other areas of life.

The goal of this training is to prepare peer workers to use their lived experience to assist clients through the transition from a criminal justice setting back into the community.

Training objectives:

As a result of this training, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the major areas of challenges that people face during community re-entry

2. Use the shared lived experience to establish credibility, share lessons learned, and inspire people through the process of transition from a correctional facility to the community

3. Work as part of a team to assist clients in addressing their social determinants of health needs including housing, food, social support, employment, health care, transportation, etc.

4. Identify best practices for providing stigma-free services to individuals through the transition period

5. Share lessons learned about strategies for avoiding reincarceration and establishing and maintaining positive interactions with parole officers and community law enforcement

Intended audience:

Any peer worker who engages with individuals who are or were incarcerated and are returning to the community.