Peer Support Specialists Guide Others to Recovery
Candice Christman understands how important a peer support specialist is for those in addiction recovery.
By 2022, she had been in treatment for substance abuse 27 times. Then she came to Wolfe Street and had her first experience with a peer support specialist.
“I had never even heard of peer support specialists. I was always being told what to do. Peer support was someone whose history looked like mine — a little blotchy. There’s something so powerful about someone saying, ‘how can I support you?’”
Peer support specialists are trained to use their experience to assist others facing similar struggles. In 2021, peer support was still a relatively new concept in Arkansas. The following year, Wolfe Street received a grant from the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas, which allowed them to hire two peer support specialists and a supervisor. Today, they have 13 peer support specialists and a supervisor on their team.
“The most powerful thing that grant did for us was build an effective, sustainable program for peer support,” said Justin Buck, Wolfe Street executive director. “We’ve really redefined what peer support means and how you deliver it.”
Justin said peer support specialists are “bridge builders,” connecting people to the resources they need to rebuild their lives, such as housing and employment support, while also assisting with goal setting and serving as cheerleaders.
“If addiction is about isolation, then recovery is about connection, and peer support specialists help connect people,” Justin said.
“I’m so happy to be in a position to offer people the same things I needed what I first started.”
– Candice Christman
People in recovery often don’t know about the resources available to them, and that’s one reason peer support specialists are so critical. “They are resource brokers for individuals in recovery. Resources are the barriers people face every day — not even knowing what’s out there,” said Candice.
Candice understands all too well how isolating addiction can be without the people and resources to guide someone to recovery.
She first used drugs at 12, and by 15, she had a “full-blown drug problem.” At 16, she was given a choice between Juvenile Detention and the National Guard Youth Challenge, where she received her GED.
Candice described the years from 12 to 33 as drug and trauma-filled. After seeking treatment more than 27 times, she applied to be part of Wolfe Street’s new recovery residence program. As part of the program, she was required to meet with her peer support specialist weekly.
She still recalls the feeling of walking into the apartment she lived in during the program: “I had never lived in an apartment so nice. It gave me a sense of worthiness …it changed the trajectory of my life.”
After 16 months in the recovery residence program and weekly meetings with her peer support specialist, she accomplished a new goal: independent living. Soon after, she was hired by Wolfe Street as a peer support specialist.
“I’m so happy to be in a position to offer people the same things I needed when I first started. Wolfe Street believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself,” said Candice, who now serves as the program operations manager, overseeing the organization’s programs and their staffing. “I believe that everything had to happen in the way that it did for me to be where I am today. I’m so grateful Wolfe Street has been part of my journey. I will be here as long as they allow me to be.”
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Blue & You Foundation, 25 Weeks of Gratitude spotlights 25 stories of Arkansans whose lives have been impacted by Foundation-funded work.
*The Blue & You Foundation was established in 2001 through an initial gift from Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Since its inception, the Foundation’s financial base has grown through wise and prudent investment strategies. This has enabled the foundation to support its mission by making grants funded by the interest earned on those investments.