Training for shelters

Dr. Kalyan Kalwa is the founder of CANRise and an experienced peer supporter and peer trainer.

Part of his work is designing and delivering trainings for organizations that are going to host or hire peer supporters, to help the existing staff teams to better understand what peer support is, why it’s important, and how to create a welcoming work environment for peers. Below is a sample curriculum that she designed.

Dr. Kalyan Kalwa also runs trainings for PWLE of homelessness who are interested in becoming peer supporters working in the homelessness sector, or other sectors that relate to their lived experience, such as reintegration peer support, and mental health organizations including both medical-model hospitals and PWLE- led mental health organizations.

Note: peer supporters are a particular type of staff with lived experience who provide social, emotional, and practical support to clients/residents with lived experience similar to their own. They ideally have specialized training in how to effectively draw on their lived experience when providing support; and they disclose the fact that they have LE to clients and coworkers.

Often the fact that they have LE is evident due to the term “peer” in their job title.

That said, the core topics covered in this training are relevant for creating a welcoming work environment for all staff with lived experience. This is particularly important for staff in roles that are designated for PWLE where they are expected to disclose their lived experience, as these staff have a higher risk of experiencing stigma, or exclusion from full participation in the staff team.

Moreover, it’s highly valuable for all staff to integrate peer support skills and principles into their work, regardless of whether they identify as having lived experience, and regardless of whether they’re in a peer role, because it helps them to:

■ more effectively support clients/residents 

■ maintain their own wellness amidst the stresses of the shelter work environment

Curriculum Outline

Note: CANRise uses the term “Peer Worker” to refer to the staff member WLE, and “Peer” to refer to the person with similar lived experience that they are supporting.

Here is an overview of what this training involves:

Understanding Core Peer Support Principles and the Benefits of Peer Support

List of key topics for a training for shelters for understanding Peer Support:

■ Engagement 

■ Connection 

■ Relationship 

■ Recovery

■ Community

Each topic goes through the qualities/ character traits of a Peer Supporter; the skills and tools used; what their benefits are for both the Peer and the Peer Supporter Training participants also learn about how Peer Support skills and principles can be (and are) adopted by all staff in Toronto shelters - regardless of whether they

Employing Staff with Lived Experience: A Toolkit for Shelter Management and Human Resources Staff have lived experience and/or are in an explicitly peer role - Toronto to support:

This training itself will create the change needed for a welcoming work environment for Peers because in it, all of the communication skills are there to interact in a healthy, learning and productive shelter service team.

Structured Peer Programs

Creating a welcoming work environment for Peers and other staff WLE through a well-structured Peer Program is extremely valuable. Creating a physical space that meets Peer Supporter needs


 ■ Peer Supporters have space for conducting one-on-one Peer Support with privacy/confidentiality (without Staff disruption, quiet)

■ Communal space/supplies for Peer shared or group Program structured orientation of Peers to the Peer Support Program - co-designed with Peers if possible) and how Peers will access Peer Support (sign up sheet, appointments, communal times).

■ Peer Supporters co-facilitate a Peer Support Orientation along with shelter staff member(s)

■ Informal Welcome Session with team introductions (informative and creative co-designed with Peer Support Lead) to get to know the broader shelter staff team that they will be working with, and make sure everyone understands each others’ roles and responsibilities.

■ Peer Supporters Session to bond as a Peer service team

■ Peer Supporters decorate their space or meeting room for Peer Support.

Ongoing Training for Shelter Staff Team from Their Peer Supporter Co-workers

Peer Supporters provide Staff with information sessions (post startup of Peer Program) to support continual practice of self-care, self-awareness, and learning skills related to Peer Support.

Best Practices for Non-Peer Staff for Integrating Peer Supporters into the Team

Staff will be trained on how to:

■ Work on overcoming bias and judgment to be a collective team with Peers especially in their communications:such as looping in Peer Supporters on emails to feel included and informed while working on Client recovery as a part of the primary care team, as well as including Peer Supporters in verbal interactions regarding shared Client load).

■ Work on avoiding oppressive language and behaviours (exclusion)

■ Understand low self-esteem that staff WLE may experience from a history of being “othered’, feelings of worthlessness, compounded trauma and abuse

■ Learn to be mindful of their side- conversations. It is important for them to be aware that when they speak about Clients, they are also speaking about Peer Supporters and other staff WLE.

■ Be open to learning from Peer Supporters as a collaborative model and


Employing Staff with Lived Experience: A Toolkit for Shelter Management and Human Resources Staff


Ongoing Training: Beyond the Orientation Prior to the Start of the Peer Program
Developing the capacity of staff to implement these best practices consistently will
 require significant practice and ongoing training and self awareness-raising. It is recommended that:

■ Shelters regularly provide ongoing
 staff training about overcoming stigma, oppression and avoiding tokenism and discussing this with the Peer Team for mutual learning. This can happen on- site, at a partner organization, or online.

■ Shelters provide tools/resources and funding for staff to engage in further learning on their own, such as through courses at the Toronto Hostels Training Centre, and reading written sources.