This training is invite only.
The South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) invites peer specialists from across Region 6 to apply for the Youth and Young Adult Peer Specialist training. In order to attend the YAYAPS TOT, participants must have successfully completed the Youth and Young Adult Peer Support training through the South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center.
Youth and Young Adult Peer Support is a three-day training that provides participants with a foundation for youth experience with mental health and substance use challenges, the unique issues for youth navigating recovery and youth-serving systems, and best practices and tools for peer specialists looking to support youth. The training will also encourage participants to consider how to use their own lived experience when supporting youth through structured reflection, group discussion, and interactive activities.
The Training of Trainers Event for the Youth and Young Adult Peer Support will prepare people to co-facilitate this training in their community. The virtual YAYAPS TOT is four days long, during which experienced facilitators will introduce the terms and concepts in the Youth and Young Adult Peer Support training, review the structure and expectations for facilitating the training, and discuss common challenges or questions that come up when facilitating the training.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this training, it is envisioned that participants will be able to:
Facilitators
Jessi Davis (she/they) is an experienced Program Coordinator and Peer Specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the Peer Support, Mental Health, and Substance Use Recovery industries. Jessi is known for work surrounding Youth and Young Adult Peer Support training, technical assistance, and leadership. Currently working at the South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, Jessi works to provide support, technical assistance, and training to the Peer Workforce throughout the 5 states and all tribal communities within Region 6. They have spent much of their career focused on promoting access to quality Peer Specialist services across the lifespan.
Darcy Kues (she/her) is a Project Manager with the South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center and the Addiction Research Institute, where she writes curricula focused on peer support and recovery services. She has over 7 years of experience in curriculum development, grant writing, and program coordination for peer support services and recovery-oriented behavioral health. Darcy has developed trainings on reentry peer support, youth and young adult peer support, trauma responsiveness, peer support supervision, LGBTQ affirming services, and more. She is committed to building a world where recovery and lived experience are centered at every level of decision-making.
