How You Can Get Involved

There are many ways that you/your organization can get involved in self management activities in Northeastern Ontario. You can get involved by:

• Participating in a "Living Healthy" workshop
• Becoming a Peer Leader
• If you are a Peer Leader, attending events that provide peer support

Become a Peer Leader

Who: Anyone can become a workshop Leader!

• Do you like to help others and are comfortable speaking in front of small groups?
• Do you live with chronic condition, or care for someone who does?

Peer Leaders are dedicated community members who teach and encourage participants to better manage their chronic conditions and to live a healthy life. Leaders typically have first-hand experience with a chronic condition themselves (patient or caregiver). The workshop does require 2 people to facilitate.

Health care providers (HCPs) are welcome to become Leaders, particularly for organizations who intend to run the program regularly, but keep in mind that when facilitating this workshop, the workshop and materials are to be approached from a “peer” perspective vs. a health care professional perspective. This implies a few things:

• The self-management programs are well-established and evaluated workshops that demonstrate positive impacts on health outcomes. The materials are copyrighted and are intended to be strictly followed with only minimal paraphrasing and no insertion of additional materials or advice. You will be expected to follow the workshop outlines and content as is.
• Depending on your background you may or may not already know some of the program content.
• Even if you already feel comfortable as a presenter/facilitator, you will be expected to practice teaching the content as part of the required exercises/curriculum

We strongly encourage HCPs co-facilitate with a person who has a chronic condition or a caregiver. Peer Leaders are provided an honorarium for facilitating a 6-weel workshop unless they are a HCP.

What: All trainings are facilitated in English but several workshops can be given in French as well. Peer Leader training for the following workshops:

1. Chronic Disease Self-Management (available in French)
2. Chronic Pain Self-Management (available in French)
3. Diabetes Self-Management
4. Cancer Thriving and Surviving
5. Online Chronic Disease Self-Management Program
6. Diabetes Healthy Feet and You (available in French)

How: Living Healthy Northeast hosts training sessions to become a Peer Leader in our self-management programs. There are several options to choose from.

• 1-day cross over training (must have current certification as a peer leader in Chronic Disease Self-Management)
• Web-based cross over training (must have current certification as a peer leader) - visit SMRC calendar for upcoming training dates
• 4-day in-person training session
• 2-day in-person session (Diabetes Healthy Feet and You only)

Costs: We will cover your training costs (tuition and materials) and can the costs of travel, food and accommodation, if needed* Costs will be reimbursed per Health Sciences North Travel Policy. All original receipts are required for reimbursement (*all costs will need to be pre-approved).

Take 4 minutes of your day to watch this video of 2 Peer Leaders from Toronto sharing their experiences and why they lead self-management programs.