Thank you for being part of the first International Peer Respite/Soteria Summit: Creating Compassionate Alternatives to Mainstream Interventions for People in Crisis and Distress.
We are looking forward to this Summit follow-up day with a two-hour gathering.
Tell your friends! More information, including links to resources and recordings of the Summit can be found HERE.
Zoom link to the Summit Follow-up Day, Joining Together to Create Change:
If you prefer to call, the phone numbers are below.
Agenda for December 5 -
Joining Together to Create Change
1. Welcome and introduction to the day.
Brief overview of the principles of "being with" people in peer respites and Soteria houses by Cindy Marty Hadge (Afiya peer respite, Massachusetts).
2. Live dialogue of "being with" others in peer respites/Soteria houses or in our own life or work -- with Cindi Fisher and Cindy Marty Hadge.
Open to others who would like to join in.
3. Live example of mentoring for developing peer respite/Soteria projects with Susan Musante (of Soteria Alaska), Kathy Laws (The Ferns Peer Respite Council, Southeastern Pennsylvania, USA), Eamonn Flynn (coordinator of group working to start a Soteria house in London), and others.
Open to questions you would like to ask.
Sign up to receive or give mentoring for starting a peer respite or Soteria House or for using the principles in your own life or work here
(1-3 minutes to complete)
Closed captioning is available.
Other gatherings and activities in specific areas to be determined.
*See some of your comments from the Summit at bottom of this email.
We are gathering again on Sunday, December 5, 2021 to harvest the energy, creativity, new ideas, and insights generated during the Summit. We will continue to build a community among us and find allies who also want compassionate alternatives for people in distress. We will begin to engage in ongoing mentoring, networking, and support in building peer respites and Soteria Houses, and possibly much more. Please bring your questions and ideas!
We want to thank all those who made the first International Respite/Soteria House Summit a reality and a success! We extend our gratitude to all the remarkable panelists who shared their experience and wisdom with us over the five Sundays of October, to the many contributors who gave their time and talents to make the Summit such a success, to the donors and supporters who gave money to the cause and demonstrated a belief that our cause is important and confidence in our ability to move forward, and lastly to all those who attended and participated and engaged. We are here because you are.
The Soteria House and peer respite models are both ways of supporting individuals experiencing distress and/or life-interrupting challenges. Both allow individuals to stay voluntarily in a homelike environment, come and go as they please, and enjoy 24/7 support and affirmation from non-clinical staff as they go through what they are experiencing.
Despite not requiring psychiatric medications, both models successfully support individuals and help them avoid psychiatric hospitalizations. Those who have used both peer respites and Soteria houses report that their experiences and what they learned were life-changing.
Please continue to participate with a worldwide community of people who share your passion for justice and equity in mental health. We have created a network of people providing connection and learning opportunities, mutual support, and a resource respository and activism for compassionate alternative approaches to supporting people experiencing life-altering distress.Collectively, we have the power to build supportive and inclusive places that value self-determination in every community in the world.
We continue to add to our resources for peer respites and Soteria houses:
Don’t forget to complete this short survey.
(1-3 minutes to complete)
*See some of your comments from the Summit at bottom of this email.
We look forward to seeing you once again!
Summit Planning Committee
Zoom link to join the Summit each Sunday:
Meeting ID: 824 3803 7745
Topic: International Peer Respite/Soteria Summit Follow-up
Time: December 5, 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Dial by your location; then enter Meeting ID: 82438037745#
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
*Here are some comments and feedback from the Summit participants:
- Loved sharing regarding language; comments about meeting each person where they are without judgment.
- The great interaction between all participants and the sincerity of each speaker
- The passion of so many of us trying to change the system
- Personal and collective experiences turning into powerful insights… huge thanks!
- Community building. Dialogue with emotion. Changing the word recovery to re-co-creating.
- I loved what was said about anger and how space is held for emotions most people are afraid of.
- Most powerfully, for me, is “being with” a community of such people, many of whom have been through the psychiatric system. Your experiences inform your commitment to Soteria/peer respites. Humbling and inspiring.
- I am not alone in the desire to be part of creating more compassionate, more accessible, voluntary, less threatening "re-co-creative" environments. That there are already dialogues opening and circles gathering to make that difference.
- Many great ideas, especially about handling conflict, anger, listening to others whose beliefs, statements or actions might be upsetting, how to develop greater equality between staff and guests.
- I took away so much. I feel it is a space in which I'll feel safer sharing emotive issues which others may disagree with and it feels good to know others recognise the harm of power structures.
- My main takeaway is probably that what was once an idea and an effort is now a movement. I deeply appreciate the personal histories and ongoing efforts of so many.
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