Compeer programs serve adults & youth – plus their families – through its volunteer mentoring and supportive friendship services, incorporating evidence-based practices and policies, best practices for recovery, and innovative peer mentoring to meet the diverse needs of communities.
Compeer works as a complement to psychiatric therapy for people in recovery from mental illnesses and emotional challenges. Screened, trained, monitored and caring volunteers provide social support through friendship and advocacy, by being positive role models, and by providing opportunities for educational and recreational activities. These volunteers commit to weekly meetings with their friends of at least an hour for a minimum of one year, sharing decision-making about activity, place, and time.
Compeer’s core service is its Adult Program, which matches a referred adult client with a community volunteer in a one-to-one friendship. Friends meet for four hours monthly to share activities such as walks, movies, sports, and cultural events. Time spent together by the friends occur in the community, in natural and safe environments.
Compeer makes its friendship matches based on gender, age, and interests. Newly-referred individuals and those not yet matched are immediately provided opportunities for social connectivity and community inclusion through invitations to monthly and annual activities, such as life-skills development, wellness initiatives, civic programs, events and celebrations. Do you like to picnic, walk, visit libraries, play chess, go to ball games? Compeer friends do all these things, and so much more!
Compeer Calling, our second most-used service, provides a volunteer to a client as interim support while waiting for a one-to-one match. Pen Pals and E-Buddies programs provide Adults who are on the Compeer engagement list support via written correspondence from Compeer volunteers. These connections involve regular phone calls and/or emails, and provide a virtual but vital link to someone who cares.
Volunteers teach life-enhancing skills, such as job readiness, money management, computer literacy, health and nutrition, community gardening through Compeer Skillbuilders group programs.
Contact us to find out about Compeer Adult programs in your community.
Compeer has been providing mentoring relationships to youth with emotional challenges since 1978. The Compeer Youth Program matches screened, trained, monitored and caring community volunteers who mentor a youth in a one-to-one relationship for one year, meeting weekly to share interests, attend events, and provide positive, consistent support.
The most important role of Compeer Youth Program volunteer is to be a mentor, not a therapist, chauffeur or entertainment director. A mentor is a caring adult who is willing to be a nonjudgmental listener to a youth in need of attention.
Love fishing or playing “Go Fish”? Reading or building bookshelves? Gardening, shooting hoops, or knitting? There’s a Compeer youth who’s waiting to learn from someone. This someone could be you, already ready to change a young life by simply being a Compeer volunteer mentor.
Other opportunities available at select locations include Lunch Buddies, a one-to-one mentoring program in which volunteers meet with youth matches at school during lunchtime, or Pen Pals and E-Buddies for youth. These two offerings similarly provide mentor support via regular written communication.
Contact us to find out about Compeer Youth programs in your community.
Compeer Calling, our second most-used service, provides a volunteer to a client as interim support while waiting for a one-to-one match. Pen Pals and E-Buddies programs provide Adults who are on the Compeer engagement list support via written correspondence from Compeer volunteers. These connections involve regular phone calls and/or emails, and provide a virtual but vital link to someone who cares.
Contact us to find out about Compeer Calling programs in your community.