As defined by RCSP grant projects, peer-to-peer services are services supporting recovery that are designed and delivered by peers—people who have shared the experiences of addiction and recovery—rather than by professionals.

Professionals are good allies, and successful peer initiatives network and build strong and mutually supportive linkages with formal systems and with professionals in their communities. However, peer services are largely designed and delivered by individuals and families in recovery to meet the needs of others like they once were. The services are defined in response to needs identified by the recovery community.

While supportive of treatment, peer-to-peer recovery support services are not treatment in the commonly understood clinical sense of the term. Still, they extend and enhance the treatment continuum in at least two ways:

• Peer-to-peer services help prevent relapse and promote long-term recovery, thereby reducing strain on the overburdened treatment system.
• When individuals do relapse, peer-to-peer services can help minimize the negative effects through early intervention and timely referral back to treatment.

The recovery community has defined recovery as continuing abstinence from alcohol and drugs and a full re-engagement with the community based on resilience, health, and hope. Therefore, peer recovery support services focus less on illness (pathology) and more on wellness. They aim to maximize the opportunities to create a lifetime of recovery and wellness for one’s self, family, neighbors, and community.

Peer-to-peer recovery support can include:

• Assistance in housing, educational, and employment opportunities
• Building constructive family and other personal relationships
• Stress management assistance
• Alcohol- and drug-free social and recreational activities
• Recovery coaching or mentoring to help manage the process of obtaining services from multiple systems, including primary and mental health care, child welfare, and criminal justice systems.

Recovery support can be targeted to respond to specific cultural or gender-specific needs. It is provided in culturally appropriate and welcoming self-help environments.