Petaluma Peer Recovery Center (Warmline!)
Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 10AM to 3PM
(707) 565-1299
Tuesday through Friday 9AM to 4PM
(707) 565-7800
Monday through Thursday 9:30AM to 3:30PM
(707) 546-4481, (707) 546-4482, (707) 546-4483, and (707) 546-4484
Russian River Empowerment Center
Monday through Friday 9:30AM to 3:30PM
(707) 823-1640 extension 207 then press 0
West County Senior Peer Support
We recruit and train seniors as peer counselors to work with other seniors who are struggling with issues of aging and need support in navigating the many challenges and transitions they face. The training is 35 hours over a period of 3 1/2 months and is provided by the licensed mental health staff who oversee the SPC program.
Our volunteer Senior Peer Counselors are caring individuals who offer non-judgmental empathetic listening and support to help seniors retain a healthier perspective and better emotional balance. 12 sessions of supportive counseling are provided in the client’s home, free of cost. Services are available county wide.
For more information or to request services, call 823-1640 ext. 380.
Peer Centers are staffed by Peer Support Specialists. We are people with lived experience of mental health challenges. We have walked in your shoes and will meet you where you are at with respect and compassion. Peer Support Specialists in Sonoma County have undertaken an Intentional Peer Support (IPS) training lasting three months as well as an intership working in the peer centers of at least 160 hours, to help them build the skills needed to use their own life experience as a grounding for supporting others on their journey to recovery.
What is Intentional Peer Support IPS?
“As peer support in mental health proliferates, we must be mindful of our intention: social change. It is not about developing more effective services, but rather about creating dialogues that have influence on all of our understandings, conversations, and relationships.” – Shery Mead, Founder of IPS.
Intentional Peer Support is a way of thinking about and inviting transformative relationships. Practitioners learn to use relationships to see things from new angles, develop greater awareness of personal and relational patterns, and support and challenge each other in trying new things.
IPS is unique from traditional human services because:
“Intentional Peer Support is about conversation. It’s about how we know, how we create new “knowing” through dialogue, and about how we as human beings interrelate by beginning to practice the art of connection – with ourselves, the people in our lives, and the people on the planet we may think we have nothing in common with. For me, it is a practice that has no right or wrong. It is always in flux; much like improvisation in music. It is a process of experimentation and co-creation. It assumes that we “play” off each other and create ever more interesting and complex ways of understanding. We see it as a tool for keeping the world on its toes, becoming more comfortable with less predictability as we become less reactive to fear. In other words, it is not another practice that presumes to have the answers but instead, it aims to generate good questions.” Read more, including the first chapter of IPS: An Alternative Approach, in our Articles Section.
At the end of the day, IPS is really about building stronger, healthier, interconnected communities. Learn about our Trainings.
There is someone you can talk to right now.” People can call at 707.565.2652. This free and private warm line is available (Licensed trained professionals)
Seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Service in Spanish is also available as well as telephone interpretation for other languages.
SCBH FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: April 22, 2020 (Response to COVID 19)
County of Sonoma Launches Warm Line for Emotional and Mental Health Support SANTA ROSA, CA – Beginning on Thursday April 23, a local warm line will be available to support community experiencing emotional stress and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. The warm line is available to any County resident experiencing emotional side effects of the pandemic and/or the shelter in place order, or knows somebody who is.
“All of us in Sonoma County are dealing with unprecedented circumstances in our lives during this pandemic. Many of us need support in coping with these changes,” says Supervisor Susan Gorin, chair of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.
“We want to make sure help is available to anyone who needs it.
There is someone you can talk to right now.” People can call at 707.565.2652. This free and private warm line is available seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Service in Spanish is also available as well as telephone interpretation for other languages.
Local behavioral health professionals will answer calls seven days a week to talk with callers to provide support, guidance, education, and referrals.
Callers may also request that an outreach call be made to someone they are concerned about, which will help to reach people who are isolated, lonely and who may not reach out on their own.
“Being at home for an extended period of time can make some people feel anxious and alone,” said Bill Carter, Sonoma County Department of Health Services Behavioral Health Director. “The mental health warm line is here so a person can talk to someone about their concerns. Counselors are standing by to provide support to people during this tough time.”
Callers can speak to a trained professional who will listen and provide useful guidance to feel better. Callers will also receive information about resources and social services currently available in the County for an array of needs including emotional issues such as depression, grief, and anger; parenting support, substance use; shelter needs; and more.
Contact: (707) 565-3040
publicaffairs@sonoma-county.org
