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Most peer support programs start strong. There's excitement, a good training weekend, and maybe a few early wins. But fast forward six months or a year, and the team's barely active, and morale is low, and leadership's wondering if it was worth the Sound familiar? In today's episode, I'm going to show you how to keep your peer support program alive, engaged, and trusted, and not just now, but for years to come.
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Welcome to Surviving Your Shift, your go-to resource for building strong, peer support teams in high-stress professions. I'm your host, Bart Leger, board-certified in traumatic stress with over 25 years of experience supporting and training professionals in frontline and emergency roles.
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Whether you're looking to start a peer support team, learn new skills, or bring training to your organization, this show will equip you with practical tools to save lives and careers.
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I've seen this play out more times than I can count.
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Agencies get fired up about peer support and pour time and money into it, but over time it fades.
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The team doesn't meet, and nobody calls. And when something big happens, the question becomes, wait, do we even still have a peer support team? Now look, starting a team is hard enough, but keeping it alive?
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That's where the real challenge begins. I know, I've made the mistakes, and I've seen what works, and I've seen what doesn't. So today, I'm going to give you the tools to make sure your program isn't just a flash in the pan, but something that makes a real difference long-term.
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I'll start with part number one. Why most peer support programs fizzle out.
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Starting with the hard truth, peer support programs fizzle when they don't feel relevant anymore. If your people don't know what the team does, or if the team isn't showing up in the moments that matter, it gets forgotten. It becomes just another committee, another failed program. Now, there are three, I believe, of the biggest reasons programs lose steam. And the first one is, no structure or leadership. Nobody's taking ownership to keep it moving. A lot of teams start with good intentions and great people, but no real plan. There's no meeting schedule and no policies. They don't have a training calendar, and there's no accountability.
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It's just, you know, we've got a peer support team now, and then crickets. Nothing happens.
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Nobody's calling in. Nobody's asking for support. A team needs a designated leader who is sold on the idea of peer support and sees the team as a way to support their peers. It doesn't have to be a full-time position.
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As a matter of fact, for most departments, it's an ancillary duty. Unless your organization is large enough, your team leader will have other responsibilities as well. But the passion for the team is a must-have for it to thrive to be as effective as possible. And when there's no structure, everything becomes reactive.
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Team members aren't sure what they're supposed to be doing day-to-day. The administration isn't clear on what success looks like. And the people you're trying to help don't know if the program is even active anymore. Structure isn't about bureaucracy. It's really about consistency. And without it, the team slowly fades into the background. Number two, no support. I've seen this time and again. Administration changes.
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Or the department goes after the next shiny object and the peer support team loses funding or support. If your team doesn't have visible, vocal support from leadership, it's not going to last. I've seen peer support teams die off simply because the chief or the director stopped talking about it. Or worse, because a new leader came in and never bought into it. Support from leadership isn't just about funding, although I know that's important. It's about culture.
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It's about giving peer supporters time to attend training, encouraging participation, and making space for emotional wellness in the way the organization talks and in the way that it operates.
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Without that top-down support, the program feels like an afterthought and people will stop trusting it. Number three, there's no ongoing investment.
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Peer support isn't a one-done deal. But a lot of departments treat it like that. They send folks to peer support courses or a suicide intervention class and they check a box and thinking they're good for the next five years. But like anything else, if you're not investing in it regularly, it starts to break down and peer supporters burn out. Their skills get rusty and the people they're trying to help start asking, do they really know what they're doing?
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Ongoing investment looks like training refreshers, check-in meetings, team development, and opportunities for supporters to take care of themselves too.
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Because if you're not filling their tank, they won't have anything left to pour into others. Now, the good news, each one of these has a solution.
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How? That's part two.
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Keep your team connected and active. You've got to treat your peer support team like it's a living thing. It needs nourishment and it needs attention. Now, here's how it works. Build a system. Think of it like setting up the backbone of your team. You need consistency and that means regular meetings. Now, monthly is great. Quarterly at the very least. These aren't just check-ins. They're opportunities where your team can share updates. They can practice their skills by doing practice sessions, practice scenarios.
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They can offer support to one another and plan how the team will stay visible and stay useful. You also need clear roles. Don't assume everyone knows what they're supposed to do. Outline what a peer supporter's responsibilities are, what the limits are, when they should hand things off to a chaplain, a clinician, or EAP.
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The more clarity you provide, the less confusion there'll be when something comes up. And then finally, put it in writing.
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Create a simple SOP or a team guideline. This becomes your anchor when things get busy or messy or when leadership changes.
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Everyone is singing off the same sheet of music, so to speak. So, first of all, build a culture.
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This is the heartbeat of a successful team. You can have the best training and processes in place, but if the people don't believe in peer support, it won't matter. So, how do you build culture? First, keep the message in front of people. Now, this doesn't mean weekly memos from HR. It means things like shout-outs from leadership during roll call, reminders during team briefings, or letting peer supporters speak at trainings and orientations. They can use real stories with permission, of course, of how peer support helped someone.
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That kind of storytelling builds trust. And it helps shift the mindset from, oh, that's just touchy-feely stuff. That's just woo-woo. To that could help somebody like me. That's what we want people to think. Also, we want to normalize our team. When peer support is just part of the conversation, it loses the stigma. You know, hey, talk to one of the peer support folks about that. Should feel as natural as, go see the medic.
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And then, build the people. This is where most programs drop the ball. Your peer supporters need ongoing development and care.
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I've said this a thousand times.
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You probably get tired of hearing me say it. But I'll say it again. Training can't be a one-time thing. It's not a one-and-done. Give them opportunities to sharpen their skills. Whether it's annual refreshers in suicide intervention, advanced courses in crisis communication, or even short workshops on empathy and listening. But don't stop at the training. Invest in team building. That could be as simple as a yearly team lunch, or a retreat day, or inviting a guest speaker to talk to your people. They need time to bond and reflect. And this is a must.
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Take care of your peer supporters. They're pouring into everyone else, but who's checking in on them? Build in regular debriefs where they can process what they've heard and experienced. Encourage them to lean on one another. And, if someone needs a break, let them step back. You'd rather have a rested peer supporter than a burned-out one giving half-effort. Now, you want a real-world tip? Schedule a yearly review of your program.
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Just once a year. That's all it takes. Look at what worked, what didn't, and where people are still struggling to engage. That little bit of intentional reflection can make a huge difference in how long your program stays alive and how trusted it becomes over time.
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Okay, I'll say it again.
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Part number three, training isn't one and done. If you only train your peer support team once when they first join, you're setting them up to fail.
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Now, look, no one expects a firefighter to train once and be ready for every fire they'll face in their career. The same goes for law enforcement or dispatch or EMS. We train constantly because situations change, people change, and the risks evolve. The same is true for peer support. Your team needs ongoing training if they're going to stay sharp, confident, and effective. Now, I'm not saying you need to send your team to a new course every month, but here's what I am saying. Make training part of the rhythm of your team. We can start with the basics. If you haven't already, your peer supporters should have a foundational course that covers skills like active listening, recognizing the signs of stress or trauma, knowing when to refer someone, maintaining confidentiality, and communicating with empathy without fixing. Now, that's the start, but it's not the finish line. From there, I want you to think in three categories.
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Number one, annual refreshers.
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Every year, build in a refresher.
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This could be a formal training day, a workshop, or even a two-hour in-service. Use it to revisit key skills and introduce updates. For example, maybe there's a new policy on confidentiality, or maybe you've added chaplain integration. Keep everyone on the same page. And here's the big one, suicide intervention training. If your team hasn't been trained in QPR or another suicide intervention method, they need to be. And that, again, is not a one-and-done skill either.
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People get rusty, so you want them to practice it regularly.
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Secondly, advanced skills training. once your team has been active for a while, you'll start to see what situations come up most often. That's where you bring in more targeted training. Things like grief and loss, burnout and moral injury.
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responding to substance use issues. This can become an issue in many departments, many organizations. And then supporting families. This is a really big one. And then cultural competence and diversity. The goal is to equip your team with depth, not just surface-level skills. Some of your peer supporters might be really comfortable with hard conversations while others might freeze up. Ongoing training will build their confidence. Then thirdly, peer supporter wellness.
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This one's often overlooked, but it matters. Train your team to care for themselves. Peer supporters are human. They're not immune to the stress and trauma they're helping others walk through. They carry stories.
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They sit in on other people's pain. If you're not intentionally giving them tools to process, you risk burnout or maybe even worse. So consider hosting a wellness day just for your peer support team. Bring in someone to talk about stress, sleep, boundaries, or resilience, and give them space to talk to each other and decompress. That kind of investment tells your team who you've got your back to.
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Finally, here's a pro tip. Keep a training log. Track who's completed what training and when.
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That way, you don't have to guess if someone is ready to respond. You'll know. And if a chief, administrator, or HR asks what kind of training your team gets, you've got the answer ready at your fingertips. And remember, training keeps your team safe. It keeps them strong.
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It keeps them trusted as well.
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You don't have to do it all at once, but you really do have to make the training a priority.
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right. Here's part four.
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Avoiding burnout in your peer supporters. Now let's talk about the people doing the work.
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Here's something not enough people talk about. Peer supporters can burn out too.
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Matter of fact, they're probably more likely to. Now think about it. these are your helpers. The ones who always show up. The ones who say yes when someone is struggling. The ones who sit quietly with someone after a suicide call or talk to a co-worker after a close call or answer the late-night text that just says, you got a minute?
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I've had plenty of those. And I've opened my door, made a pot coffee, and sat at the kitchen table and just talked to someone who was on shift when they came by the house to talk. Your peer supporters care deeply and that's exactly why they're at risk. Compassion fatigue is real and so is vicarious trauma. Just because someone's trained to help others doesn't mean they're immune to the weight of what they hear and if we're not careful, we'll lose our best supporters to emotional exhaustion. So let's talk about how to protect your team from burning out. First, normalize boundaries. Your team needs permission to say, not today.
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I'm not ready. Let's be honest.
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For most first responders, we're bad at this. We jump in. We over-function. We carry more than we should. But peer supporters can't pour from an empty cup. If someone on your team is dealing with their own family crisis or they're just worn out, give them space. off the active list for a while and there's no shame in that and don't put the guilt trip on them.
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You can build that into your structure. For example, assign on-call weeks for different team members so they're not always feeling on edge, wondering when they'll be called. Secondly, give a space to debrief. This is huge. Your team needs a place to talk about what they're carrying obviously without breaking confidentiality. That could be a monthly check-in meeting just for your peer support team or a trusted chaplain, a psychologist, a therapist or outside peer team leader they can talk to. If someone is supporting co-workers through a string of critical incidents, they need a safe place to offload the emotional weight. Otherwise, they absorb it and it builds up and eventually it's going to come out somehow, maybe even sideways.
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So encourage your team to talk about their experience doing peer support work even if they can't talk about specific individuals. number three, recognize their work. You don't have to throw a parade but simple things matter. Buy your team lunch every once in a while.
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Send a thank you card from leadership. Give them a shout out at a department event if it's appropriate and let them know their work is seen. That kind of affirmation can go a long way toward refueling their emotional tank. Some departments even allow peer support hours to count as part of their official duties. If you can do that, do it. It sends the message that supporting people is just as important as answering calls.
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Fourthly, check in on your peer supporters. Here's a simple rule.
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Just because someone is helping others doesn't mean they're okay.
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Sometimes, the most burned out person is the one holding everyone else up. So, if you're leading the team, check in on your peer supporters individually. Ask them how they're doing. Not just how many people they've talked to. Create a culture where even your helpers can ask for help. And, if someone needs a break, support that. If they're carrying something too heavy, offer backup. If they need professional help themselves, make it easy and make it stigma-free. Peer support is a gift, but it has a cost. And we've got to take care of the people doing the caring. Burnout isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign that someone's been trying to be strong for too long without enough support of their own. If you want your peer support program to survive and thrive long-term, you need to build in protection for your team.
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Now, part number five.
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Evaluate what's working without breaking confidentiality. All right, so you've got a team.
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You've trained them and you've built trust. You've been doing the work. But, how do you know if it's working? That's one of the biggest challenges in peer support. We can't exactly hold up a chart of hearts healed or crises prevented. no scorecard and because confidentiality is so central, you can't exactly walk into a staff meeting and say, hey everyone, we talked to three people out of quitting this week. So how do we evaluate something that by design keeps things quiet? let me walk you through a few practical ways you can check the health and effectiveness of your peer support program without compromising trust or privacy.
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One, measure activity, not specifics. Start by tracking general activity, not the content of what your team is talking about. You don't need names. You don't need detailed notes. But, you do want to how many peer contacts happened this month. Were they in person? Were they phone calls? Or were they texts? Did anyone require follow-up? And were any referrals made to outside resources? This kind of anonymous tracking helps you see trends. Is engagement going up or You're not evaluating individuals. You're monitoring patterns that tell you whether your team is being accessed and trusted. Some departments use a simple coded log system. Each interaction gets logged with a date, general issue, things like work stress, family, grief, critical incident, etc., and time spent. No names, no identifiers, just enough to paint the picture. Secondly, regular team debriefs. I said this earlier, but it's worth repeating. Get your team together regularly to talk about what they're doing. These aren't strategy meetings or clinical reviews. These are informal check-ins where your peer supporters can reflect on what kinds of issues people are coming up with, what's working well in their approach, where they're feeling stuck or unsure, and whether they need more training or support. Again, no names, no stories, just a chance to gauge how your team feels about the program's effectiveness on the ground. And then, you may begin to hear patterns. Maybe people are opening up more since a recent training. Maybe your team has stretched too thin, or maybe someone's discovered a new way to connect with coworkers that others can learn from. This kind informal feedback is gold. And thirdly, confidential feedback forms. this one takes a little trust, but it can be incredibly useful. Consider creating a simple, anonymous feedback form that coworkers can fill out after using the peer support team. it's not mandatory.
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clear that their identity and details won't be tracked or shared. You can ask questions like, did you feel heard and supported? and helpful? Did you safe sharing what you were going through? Was the support helpful?
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Would you recommend peer support to a coworker? These kind of questions will give you some qualitative insight. What the experience feels like for the people using the service. Now, you're not measuring outcomes necessarily, you're measuring impact. If people say I've felt safe and supported, that's success. Then four, watch for ripple effects. Sometimes, the best signs that your program is working are on the ones you can't measure. A shift in culture, maybe a softer tone in the break room, or a coworker finally asking for help after years of staying silent. Are people talking more about mental health? Are they checking on each other more? Are supervisors referring folks to the peer support team instead of brushing things off? These ripple effects don't show up on our spreadsheet, you're paying attention, you'll see them. You might even ask leadership, have you noticed a shift in morale or communication since we started the program?
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Those anecdotal observations can affirm that you're moving in the right direction. 5. Adapt without losing integrity.
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Evaluation isn't just about measuring, it's about improving.
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If your team's overwhelmed, scale back. If your people aren't calling, rethink your promotion. If trust is slipping, address it head-on. If training feels stale, refresh it. Your program isn't sacred, your mission is, and that mission is supporting the well-being of your people. So be willing to evolve the how while holding firm to the why. Just remember, you can't evaluate peer support the way you evaluate performance reviews or response times. It's a ministry of presence, not production. So look at engagement, look at trust, and listen to your team, and keep the focus on helping people, not checking boxes.
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And the next one, part number six, staying visible without being obnoxious. I think this is a really, really good one. all right, let's talk about visibility. You can build the best peer support program in the world, but if no one knows or remembers it exists, what's the point? Visibility is the oxygen of peer support. If your team fades into the background, people will forget they have somewhere to turn when life gets heavy. But, and this is key, you don't want to become that team that's always pushing flyers and giving awkward speeches at roll call. So how do you walk that fine line? How do you stay visible without being annoying?
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Let's break it down. Number one, be present without pushing.
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Sometimes the best promotion is just showing up consistently, quietly, and like a human being.
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dropping by a shift briefing now and then, sitting in the break room for 20 minutes during a meal rotation or stopping by the dispatch center with coffee. Not a brochure. Just being there.
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Just being around. You're not there to market. You're there to be a peer. pressure, no pep talk, just presence. Remember we said it's a ministry. of presence. be proactive. If you notice someone who might be struggling, go to them and start up a conversation.
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Let them know you're there for them if they want to talk. Over time, that quiet consistency will build familiarity and familiarity will build trust. So when someone hits a they don't have to ask, who do I call?
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They've already seen your face and they know you're someone safe. And then, speak the language of the culture. If you want people to listen, don't sound like a TED talk or a therapist in uniform. Speak the language of your department. Be real and use humor. Keep it short and when you do talk about the team. Frame it like this.
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We're not here to fix anybody.
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We're just here when things get heavy. That kind of reframing doesn't raise defenses. I think it can lower them. Because you're not promoting a program, you're reminding people that someone on their shift, someone who gets it, is available when the bottom drops out or things go sideways or when life just rides off the rails. thirdly, celebrate small wins publicly.
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Again, without breaking trust.
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Every once in a while, when someone gives permission or speaks publicly about peer support helping them, leverage that story. Use it wisely and use it respectively. Even something as simple as, one of our folks came up to me last week and said, thanks for being available when I needed to talk.
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I didn't realize how much I was carrying until I got it out.
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That is powerful. You're not violating confidentiality.
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You're showing that the system works and you're giving peer support a face and a voice and a reason to exist in the minds of your people. You want to stay up front. Number four, partner with leadership. This can be tricky, but if you've got a good leader in your corner, use it. Invite them to mention the peer support team. department-wide emails, town halls, or performance briefings. Not in a forced or formal way, but maybe just as a reminder. It could go something like this. Hey, I know this has been a rough few months. If you need to talk, remember, we have a solid peer support team ready to help. That kind of mention from the top carry a lot of weight and it gives your team credibility without you having to campaign for it. Just make sure the messaging stays peer-centered. It's not about compliance. It's really about care and that you're there for your people. Fifth, rotate your approach. Don't just hang one poster and call it a day, but also don't hang 50 of them. Use variety. Try low-pressure, high-visibility touch points like a well-designed flyer on the back of the bathroom stall.
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Yep, that works because you've got a captive audience. A short intro slide before or after mandatory training. A line maybe on the paycheck stub or the internet homepage, something on your system that people can check. Peer support coins, challenge coins, everybody loves challenge coins, or patches that your peer support team can wear, or maybe even pins, wellness newsletters that include peer support reminders, QR codes that link to a private page where people can contact a peer. And remember, don't just promote the team, promote the people. When folks know who their peer supporters are by face and name, the program becomes personal.
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And then sixthly, show up when it matters most. Visibility matters most after critical incidents. When something really heavy happens, a line of duty death, a fatal crash, or a disturbing call, don't wait for permission to show up. Be there and be available. Not to pry, not to fix, but just be there to listen. These moments define how your team is remembered. If people see you walking alongside them in the hard stuff, they'll know they can call you when their personal world falls apart.
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That's visibility and that's visibility that matters. And finally, part number seven, what do you do when the momentum dies?
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come on, let's be real. Even the best peer support programs hit a wall sometimes. You start out strong, there's a lot of interest and people are showing up, your teams engage and then slowly but surely things begin to quiet down. Fewer people reach out and maybe your team starts feeling discouraged and you begin to wonder, is this even helping anymore? Now that's normal because momentum doesn't just stay on autopilot. It has to be recharged every now and then. So what do you do when it feels like your peer support team has lost steam? Let me walk you through a few practical strategies that can help bring life back into your team and reignite their purpose. Number one, take an honest look at why the energy dipped. Before you do anything else, pause and ask why.
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Has there been leadership turnover that shifted priorities?
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Did the team stop meeting regularly? run out? Have your peer supporters burned out? Did a critical incident shake people's trust in the team? Or have you had any fresh wins or reminders that the program matters lately? Sometimes the lull is simply circumstantial.
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Other times it may be systemic.
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Either way, you've got to diagnose before you try to fix it. And then be honest with yourself. If the program started off with a lot of noise and not enough structure, you may need to build some trust or tighten up the way it functions.
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Secondly, reconnect with your why as a team. One of the simplest ways to restart momentum is to bring your team back to the table and remind them why this matters. post a short peer team meeting. Not to complain about the slowdown, but to reflect and refocus. Ask questions like, what made you want to be part of this team in the first place? What's one moment where you saw peer support actually help someone?
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Or maybe what's been getting in the way lately? And what would help reignite your passion for this? Now this isn't a guilt trip. Think of it as a recalibration. Sometimes revisiting your mission as a team can light that spark.
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refresh the roster if needed.
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Let's be honest, sometimes programs lose momentum because the wrong people are still on the team. Or maybe the right people have stepped away. If someone joined the team for the wrong reasons or is no longer showing up with the right heart, it might be time to have a kind but honest conversation. A stagnant team member can unintentionally drag the energy down for everyone. And at the same time, maybe you've had some great people in your department who have recently stepped into leadership roles or have shown a heart for others. Recruit them.
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You don't have to start over, but it might be time to rebuild the team's chemistry. Some teams have their peer supporters only sign up for a year at a time.
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And then after that year's up, they can either re-up or if a person shouldn't be on the don't sign them up for the next year.
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Have a heart-to-heart to explain why and let everyone know up front that just because they've served in the past, it doesn't mean they'll be there forever.
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And then fourthly, what you can do is re-introduce the program internally. Because if your team's momentum is lagging, chances are the department has forgotten you exist. You don't need a big campaign, maybe just something simple and timely, a short email from leadership highlighting the team, a few posters with updated contact names, because, I mean, I get it, we see the same posters, the same bulletins over and over again, and we don't see them anymore. So start with some fresh posters, some fresh artwork maybe, two-minute reminder during a training session, or peer support or attending roll call, not to teach, but just to show up. So let the agency know we're still there. We haven't gone anywhere, and we're ready when you need us.
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Sometimes it's all it takes to spark a few calls, and then momentum begins to return. And fifthly, celebrate the small wins again. When peer support first starts, every win feels huge. But over time, you get used to it. You stop telling stories and you stop recognizing your team's impact. And that makes it easy to forget the difference you're making. So go back to telling those stories.
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You don't, again, have to share names or details. But if you have permission, you can say things like, we had a great conversation with someone last week who said they finally slept through the night after reaching out. That's why this team exists.
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That kind of reminder breathes life back into your team and it says, this is worth doing and we're making a difference. Sixth, be patient but intentional. You know, listen, momentum doesn't bounce back overnight. It can be a slow climb. But that doesn't mean you sit back and hope something happens. Start small.
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Start with one conversation.
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Maybe recruit one new peer supporter or have a short meeting or put out one reminder email. Programs fizzle when we treat them like a sprint. But peer support is a marathon.
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You're not just here for the crisis of the moment. You're building a sustainable culture of care for years to come and that takes perseverance.
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So if you're in that slump right now, don't give up.
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The work still matters. It may be quiet but it's not over. And a little intentional action today can bring the momentum back tomorrow. Peer support saves careers. it saves lives.
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But only if it stays alive. Your team won't last because it got good training one time. It lasts because it stays active, connected, and supported. And the culture you create around that is what makes the difference. If you're already leading a team or maybe just dreaming of starting one, I hope this gives you the tools and encouragement to keep it going strong. next time we're going to talk about something most of us don't love doing and that is how to have a hard conversation without making it worse. You know the kind. When someone's struggling or made a mistake or you just know something's off but you're not sure how to say it, I'll give you a simple framework to help. Make sure you're following the show so you don't miss it. Thanks for listening to Surviving Your Shift. I'll see you next time.
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Until then, God bless and have a great day.
