How to Build a Peer Support Team in a Small Department
Learn how to build a peer support team in a small department, with practical tips for rural first responders, fire, EMS, and police. Discover right-sized peer support looks like.
Learn how to build a peer support team in a small department, with practical tips for rural first responders, fire, EMS, and police. Discover right-sized peer support looks like.
What do you say when you hear, “We’re too small for peer support”?
Many small departments struggle with the same question: “How can we start peer support when we’re already short on people and time?”
In this episode, we dive into how to build a peer support team in a small department, making it realistic and practical for rural first responders, fire, EMS, and police.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL LEARN:
- What “right-sized” peer support looks like in a 20–50 person department
- How to pick the first 2–3 people for your team
- Simple policies you actually need for a small department
- How to partner with nearby agencies, chaplains, or EAP to extend your reach
- What to do in the first 90 days to ensure team effectiveness and longevity
Use this episode with your peer support team, leadership, or at your next shift meeting to start or improve peer support in your small department. Share it with other small agencies struggling with the same question.
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Connect with Bart
Email: bart@survivingyourshift.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bartleger
Facebook Page: facebook.com/survivingyourshift
Website: www.survivingyourshift.com
Want to find out how I can help you build a peer support program in your organization or provide training? Schedule a no-obligation call or Zoom meeting with me here.
Let's learn to thrive, not just survive!
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Let me guess what you've heard in your department. "We're
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too small for a peer support team. We don't have the people.
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We don't have the time. We barely have enough staff to
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cover shifts, and you want to pull people off the truck or the
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unit for this?" If you're in a 20-50 person agency or a rural
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department where everybody wears three hats already, peer support
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can feel like a luxury item. Sometimes, the big city
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departments or big hospitals do. But here's the thing. The stress,
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the calls, the trauma, the staffing problems, they hit
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small departments just as hard, sometimes harder. Stay tuned to
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find out how to build a peer support team in a small
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department.
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Welcome to Surviving Your Shift, your go-to resource
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for building strong, peer support teams in high-stress
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professions. I'm your host, Bart Leger, board-certified in
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traumatic stress with over 25 years of experience supporting
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and training professionals in frontline and emergency roles.
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Whether you're looking to start a peer support team, learn new
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skills, or bring training to your organization, this show
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will equip you with practical tools to save lives and careers.
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In this episode of Surviving Your Shift, we're
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going to talk about how to build a peer support team in a small
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department in a way that's realistic, not a fantasy program
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with 20 people and a giant budget. I'm going to walk you
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through what right-sized peer support looks like when you've
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got maybe 20 to 50 people, and how to pick your two to three
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team members, what kind of simple policies you really need,
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how to partner with nearby agencies, chaplains, or EAP. and
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what to focus on in the first 90 days so the team actually
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survives and works. ever thought, I want peer support, but I have
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no idea how to start peer support in a small agency, this
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one's for you. I've worked with many small departments.
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I've worked with many small companies. I've worked with many
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small companies. I've worked with many small companies. I've
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worked with many small companies. I've worked with many small
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companies. I've worked with many small companies. I've worked
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with many small companies! I've worked with many small companies.
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companies. I've worked with many small companies. I've worked
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with many small companies. I've worked with many small companies.
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I've worked with many small companies. I've worked with many
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small companies. My business user may have worked with many
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small companies. I've worked with many small companies. I've
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worked with many small companies. I've worked with many small
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companies. I've worked with many small companies. You can't
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afford this. And here's what I told him. You can't afford not
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to. You don't need a big-city peer support team. You need a
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right-sized one for your department. If that's where you
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are, I get it. You're not sitting on extra people. And
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you're not swimming in money or time. But the good news is, you
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don't have to be. A peer support team in a small department is
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possible. And it can be really effective if you build it with
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the right expectations and the right structure.
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You can't do it. You can't solve all the problems. So
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let's break this down. First, what does right-sized peer
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support look like in a small department? Second, how to pick
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your first two to three people? Third, simple policies you
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actually need? And fourth, how to partner with nearby agencies,
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chaplains, or EAP to extend your reach? Fifth, what to do in the
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first 90 days to set yourself up for real effectiveness and
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longevity. When people hear peer support team, they often picture
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a big-city fire or police department with two dozen
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trained members, their own office, special shirts, and a
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whole system. Third, if you try to copy that with 25 people on
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your roster, you're going to get frustrated really fast. For a
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peer support team in a small department, you're aiming for
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Simple, flexible, and sustainable. simple doesn't
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mean you drown yourself in complicated procedures or long
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chains of command. You need clear basics: who does what, how
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people get help, and what you can and can't promise regarding
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confidentiality. Flexible means your team members can wear
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multiple hats. Your peer supporters might be officers,
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medics, engineers, nurses, dispatchers, or supervisors. You
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don't have the luxury of putting them in a special box. They do
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peer support alongside their regular duties. Sustainable
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means you build something you can actually maintain for years,
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not just for three months, while you're excited. That means
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accepting that your peer support team in a small department might
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be two or three solid people, not eight or ten or more. It
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also means you don't try to be a 24/7 hotline with only three
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names on the roster.
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In a 20 to 50 person agency, or a little bit smaller,
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a little bit larger, it's really not the number that matters.
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Right-sized peer support might look like this: two or three
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trained peers, at least one of each gender if you can swing it,
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backed by a chaplain or a counselor, with simple ways to
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call them when needed. That alone can change the culture.
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This is one of the most important steps. Your first peer
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supporters are going to set the tone and reputation of the
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program. That's how you pick the first two to three people. In a
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small agency, everybody knows everybody's business. You can't
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get around it. So you don't just pick whoever raises their hand
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first. You look for people who already carry informal trust.
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Ask yourself a few questions. Who do people already go to when
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stuff hits the fan? Who can keep their mouth shut? And who has
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enough emotional maturity not to make everything about themselves?
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Who can sit with someone who's upset without panicking or
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trying to fix everything in five minutes? You're not looking for
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perfect people. You're looking for credible people. You also
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need at least one person who's not the center of every rumor
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storm. If someone is known as the Gossip Warehouse, they're
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not a good fit for peer support in a small department, or
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actually even in a large department. Even if they're a
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really good firefighter, deputy, or nurse, trust is everything.
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If possible, aim for diversity. That might be gender, role, or
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shift. For example, in a 30-person fire department, your
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first three could be: one senior firefighter or engineer that
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everyone respects, one newer member who relates well to the
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younger folk, and one officer who has a reputation for being
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fair and approachable. If you've got women on your roster, having
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at least one female peer supporter is huge for your
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credibility and also accessibility. In law
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enforcement, the same idea. Maybe one patrol deputy, one
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jailer, or corrections officer, and one supervisor, who everyone
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knows is reliable under pressure. In a small hospital or EMS
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service, maybe one ER nurse, one medic, and one charge nurse or
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supervisor. Once you've got those two or three people
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identified, talk with them one-on-one. Don't just assign
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them. Ask them, "Here's what we're trying to build and here's
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what it would mean. Is this something you're willing to be a
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part of?" You want them at least somewhat bought in and not just
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voluntold.
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And even in a small department peer support team
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setting, some training is non-negotiable. You can't just
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slap a title on somebody and turn them loose. Look for core
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training in peer support or crisis intervention. that might
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be CISM style training, basic peer support course, or even
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reputable online training if in-person is tough to get. You
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want them to understand listening skills,
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confidentiality limits, basic crisis reactions, and when to
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refer and how to do it. If you can't afford to send everybody
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off-site at first, don't be afraid to start small. Even if
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you can just send one person, it's a start. Remember, training
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is not a one and done. But at the beginning, get at least a
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solid starting point under their belt before you start
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advertising the peer support program to the whole agency.
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Next, come policies. I know policies sound boring, but
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this is where you protect your people and your program. For a
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small agency, your policies should be short and clear. Let
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me give you four core questions your policies need to answer.
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First, what is peer support here? What does it look like? Spell it
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out in plain language. Peer support in this department is
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confidential one-on-one or small group support provided by
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trained coworkers to help with work-related and personal stress.
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Second, how does someone reach the peer support team? Is there
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a dedicated phone, a shared email, a list of peer supporters
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posted on the wall, or do they go through the supervisor? In a
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small department with a peer support team, I like having a
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simple contact list with phone numbers so people can reach out
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directly if they want to. Third, what are the limits of
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confidentiality? You really need to be honest about this. Peer
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support is confidential within ethical and legal limits. If
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someone talks about plans to harm themselves, harm someone
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else, abuse, or something that triggers your duty to report,
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you can't promise total secrecy. Write that down clearly so your
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team members know where the line is.
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what's the activation process after a critical incident? In a
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big agency, there might be a formal activation through
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command staff.
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The on-duty supervisor notifies the peer support coordinator who
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decides whether a response is needed. Maybe one-on-one
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contacts followed by a defusing or a debriefing. Keep the policy
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short, two or three pages at most, even if that long. Use
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plain language and make sure your leadership signs off so
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your peer supporters have backing when they step into
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these conversations.
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What about partnering with nearby agencies? Here's one
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of the big secrets to making rural first responder wellness
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work. You don't do it alone. Now, we're going to try to get to the
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next day of the day of the day of foster care. We'll do it
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alone. When you start peer support in a small agency, you
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can multiply your impact by partnering with others. That
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might be the next town's fire department, the sheriff's office
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down the road, a regional EMS provider, a hospital, or your
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local faith community. Mutual aid isn't just for fires and
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mass casualty incidents. You can do mutual aid for peer support.
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You might have three trained people. The next department over
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might have three or four. That gives you a pool of six or seven
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to lean on when something big happens. Why does this matter?
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Because sometimes your people don't want to talk to someone in
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their own building. In a small town, talking to a peer in your
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own agency can feel risky because everyone's connected.
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Offering access to a peer from a neighboring agency gives some
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distance and still keeps it peer. Chaplains can also be a strong
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partner. A good chaplain who understands responder culture,
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respects boundaries, and doesn't push religion can be a huge
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asset. They can support your team, be available when the team
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gets overloaded, and help with referrals. And then there's EAP,
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the Employee Assistance Program. know a lot of you in small
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departments roll your eyes at EAP because you've had some bad
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experiences. But if you have one, it's worth building a
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relationship with them, learning which counselors get first
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responders, and working to make that system actually useful.
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that's where you can find your peer support team to work. Your
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peer support team then becomes a bridge. Let's talk here, and if
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you need more, here's a counselor we've vetted.
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That's your extended team.
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So let's say you've identified your first 2-3 people,
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got them some basic training, and put together some policies.
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Now what? The first 90 days are about three things:
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Communication, practice, and small wins. On communication,
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you need to tell your people what peer support is, who's on
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it, and how to use it. That might be a short presentation at
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Roll Call, a flyer on the bulletin board, and an email
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from leadership backing the program. Just keep it simple and
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honest. Don't oversell. You might say something like, "We've
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started a small peer support team. These folks have had basic
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training and listening and crisis support. They're
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available if you want to talk after a tough call or about
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ongoing stress. This is voluntary. This is not therapy.
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And here's how you reach them." Also, mention the
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confidentiality limits so you don't surprise anyone later.
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When it comes to practice, your new peer supporters need reps,
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just like in the gym. Not in the middle of a massive critical
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incident at first. Start with lower-stakes situations. That
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might be checking in with someone after a rough domestic
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call, touching base with a medic after a code, or just having
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some internal one-on-one conversations in the day. You
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want your peer supporters to get comfortable asking open-ended
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questions, listening, and avoiding becoming fixers. You
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can even do some simple role-plays in training or during
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downtime. If it feels cheesy at first, I know, but it will build
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some confidence as they practice. On small wins, look for one or
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two situations in the first few months where the team can show
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its value. Maybe it's an informal check-in after a bad
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wreck everyone ran. Maybe it's one person who reached out
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during a divorce or a burnout period. Maybe it's one person
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who reached out during a while.
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Maybe it's one person who reached out during a while.
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Maybe it's one person who reached out during a while.
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Maybe it's one person who reached out during a while.
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Maybe it's one person who reached out during a while.
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Maybe it's one person who reached out during a while.
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Maybe it's one person who reached out during a while.
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Maybe it's one person who reached out during a while. Or
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it was one person who reached out during a while.
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Maybe it was one person who reached out during a while.
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It was one person who reached out during a while. It was one
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person who reached out during a while. And there was one person
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who reached out during a while. And one person who reached out
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during a while. And one person who reached out during a while.
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And one person who reached out in a while.
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And was one person who reached out during a while. And was one
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person who reached out in a while. And was one person who
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reached out during a while. And was one person who reached out
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during a while. And was one person who reached out during a
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while. And was one person who reached out into a while. And
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was one person who reached out during a while. And was one
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person who reached out during a while. Or right after shift
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change. You're not always carving out a special three-hour
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block. You're weaving it into your existing flow. Also, peer
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support doesn't always mean big formal debriefings. In many
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small agencies. The most effective peer support work
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happens in a corner of the bay. Two chairs in an office. Or
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walking around the parking lot. And be clear with leadership.
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We're not asking to shut down operations for a day. We're
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asking for the ability to have these conversations when they're
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needed. And for occasional training to keep skills sharp.
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When they say, we don't have people or time. You can say,
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we're going to design this so it respects those limits. But we're
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not going to ignore mental health and hope it goes away.
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And what do we do about keeping the team healthy and out
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of trouble? In a small department, if your peer
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supporters make a big mistake, everyone knows it. So you want
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to help them avoid common pitfalls. Don't let peer
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supporters turn into fix everything people. They're not
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therapists. They don't need to solve marriages, cure addictions
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or handle every crisis alone. They listen, support, and they
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help connect people to more help when it's needed. Number two.
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Hold them accountable for confidentiality. If a peer
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supporters start sharing details from conversations as gossip or
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as entertainment, that's a problem. You may need to coach
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them or even remove them from the team if they can't tighten
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it up. Your peer support team in a small department lives or dies
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on trust. And number four. Step one. Watch for burnout in your
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peer supporters. Because the program is small, the same
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people can get called again and again. Make sure they have
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someone to talk to. Maybe it's a chaplain or an outside
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consultant. So they don't carry all of this alone. And then
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number four. Keep giving them some version of continuing
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education.
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Or listening to episodes like this together and discussing how
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to apply them.
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What about measuring success? All agencies usually
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don't have a wellness analyst tracking everything in Excel.
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That's okay. You can still have a sense of whether your first
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responder wellness efforts are working. Look for signs like,
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Are people actually reaching out to the peer support team? Are
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your peer supporters staying engaged and not overwhelmed? Do
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you hear fewer comments like suck it up and move on? And more
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like, If you need to talk, we've got folks for that. You can also
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do a simple anonymous survey once or twice a year. A couple
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of quick questions like, Do you know who's on the peer support
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team? Would you feel comfortable reaching out if you needed to?
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That alone can guide you. Your goal is not perfection. Your
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goal is moving the needle. If, over time, you see more use,
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more trust, and fewer people slipping through the cracks,
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that's success. Here's what I want you to do with this. If
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you're in a small or rural agency, and if you've been on
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the fence about peer support, start by identifying your first
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2 to 3 people. Not 10, not a big dream list, just 2 or 3 names of
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people who already carry trust. then write those names down.
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Schedule a conversation with them and with your Chief,
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Sheriff, Director, or leadership, and ask, Can we build a small
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peer support team around these folks? Use some of what you've
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heard here to talk about simple policies, basic training, and
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partnerships. If you're already in leadership, bring this
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episode to your next officers meeting or administrative
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meeting. Ask, What would a realistic fire, EMS, or police
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support setup look like for us? Or, whatever discipline you find
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yourself in. Who do we already have on our roster that we could
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trust with this? And if you feel overwhelmed trying to put all
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this together by yourself, that's okay. You don't have to
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have it all figured out today. Take the next right step. Pick
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your people. Get them some training. Start small. And grow
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as you're able. If you'd like some help getting your peer
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support team off the ground, get in touch with me. You can either
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email me at Bart at survivingyourshift.com. Or,
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schedule a free consultation call at
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survivingyourshift.com/consultation . I'm here to I hope you'll be
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able to help. If you know another small department that
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keeps saying we can't do peer support, we're too small, then
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share this episode with them. Sometimes, hearing that there's
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a way to do this on a small scale is all they need to get
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moving. Thanks for spending this time with me on Surviving Your
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Shift. You don't need a big budget or a huge roster to care
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for your people. You just need a few trusted folks, some basic
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structure, and the willingness to start. Your small agency is
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worth that effort. Take care of yourself, take care of your crew,
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and I'll see you next time on Surviving Your Shift.
