Full case study available soon...
Peer Support Workers & Community Health Workers
Listening & Feedback Tour
Project Duration:
May to December 2023
Affiliated Organizations:
Service Design Studio + NYC Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health
Team
Lyndsey Richardson, Studio Director
Nivea Jackson, NYC OCMH
Ilana Yamin, NYC OCMH
+ many more who will not fit in this section!
My Role
Project Lead
Facilitator
Teaching Assistance
Material Creation (Graphics & Content)
Wins At a Glance
135+ Peer Support Workers and Community Health Workers engaged through focus groups & surveys (over 12 organizations reached.)
15+ hours of focus group sessions hosted.
Prioritized 10 solutions out of the 70+ potential solutions ideated. Final recommendations communicated in the Listening & Feedback Tour Report.
What is a PSW? What is a CHW?
Peer Support Workers and Community Health Workers are a vital part of the mental health workforce. They provide mental health care grounded in lived experiences and personal connections.
Peer Support Workers (PSW) use their lived experience of a mental health or substance use diagnosis, to support others navigating those systems.
Community Health Workers (CHW) also provide nonclinical support to members of their community. They utilize their connections within the community and relationship-building skills to inform their practice.
What is the Listening and Feedback Tour?
In January 2023, the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health (OCMH) launched an interagency committee of 15+ city and state agencies. The committee wished to improve the professional development opportunities for Peer Support Workers (PSWs) & Community Health Workers (CHWs).
The committee approached the Service Design Studio for help engaging this community. The Studio led and designed a ‘Listening and Feedback’ tour to directly hear from Peers and Community Health Workers on their experiences in the role; and to learn about opportunities for improvement, increased support, and career planning
The committee worked over several months to develop recommendations for the City and organizational stakeholders to implement, with the goal of sustaining and improving the workforce of Peers and CHW’s.
