Peer Solutions

MISSION: Peers working with peers to make the world a better place. VISION: A world where everyone is safe and treated equitably with respect (SER). This is a world free from harm to self, others, and the planet.

Peer Solutions was founded in 1996 with youth and communities across Metropolitan Phoenix. We live by the motto, "no decision about us without us". We achieve our mission and vision through our program Trauma Informed Primary Prevention (TIPP) program. Our Goals are: 1) to redirect resources spent on crisis intervention to investing in the health and well-being of families, schools, workplaces, governments, and communities, 2) to interrupt the cycle of harm by preventing the root causes by modifying societal norms and policies to create safe, equitable, and respectful environments, and 3) To address historical and current trauma with kindness, empathy, and compassion.

Current Activities are year-round, youth-led, and Include:
1. Weekly, meetings/projects with elementary through post-secondary students combined with weekly campus-wide outreach (Virtual)
2. Monthly Guts To Be Good (G2BG)* School Staff Member of the month and Arizona Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Coalition meetings co-hosted with Childhelp (Virtual)
3. Bi-annual Events and Days at the Capitol including Shadow a Legislator Day, Developing TIPP training,
4. Ongoing service projects including continued COVID Cares response and peer-led programming with youth/families addressing Traumatic Brain Injury, serving on Tempe's Equity in Action Coalition, the PeerPod podcast, and local and national workshops to include Trauma Informed Primary Prevention (TIPP) Training and Certification (Virtual)
Long-term evaluation proves youth that participate in our program spend the rest of their lives working to make the world a better place. Although most came from challenging families, they are now creating healthy and loving families while still volunteering, serving on our board, advocating for others, and working in human service fields. Twenty-five years later, it is an absolute joy to observe.

Youth that participate in programming then become peer leaders dedicated to cultivating equity across the social ecology forever. They join, learn the program, and then teach others. It is a model that works.

The youth we support represent some of the most marginalized communities in the state. Arizona's children need your help. It's a crisis. For the past eight years, Az has ranked in the bottom six states for the overall wellbeing of children. In 2018, Az ranked last, 50/50 states, for young people experiencing two or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). "Without a doubt, childhood trauma is the nation's number one public health problem," says Dr. Robert Anda, co-investigator of the ACEs Study, one of the largest scientific studies to uncover the link between childhood maltreatment, and health and wellbeing in later life. We also surveyed our participants in 2018 to compare scores. Sadly, 100% of our youth experience two or more ACEs as compared to 21% of US youth and 30% of AZ youth, and 86% of our youth experience three or more ACEs as compared to 10% of US youth, and 18% of AZ youth. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Evaluation Highlights
1. 92% of participants report demonstrating safety, equity, and respect as norms every day
2. 100% of Peer Solutions' seniors graduate high school
3. 82% of participants report being more committed to community service since joining
4. 88% of participants report being more honest since joining,
5. 91% of participants report being more respectful of self and others since joining
6. 96% of participants report improvement in grades since joining.
7. 91% of participants report speaking up more for themselves and others since joining,
8. 100% of families agreed their students believed they could make the world a better place as compared to 62% before joining.

*The Guts to Be Good (G2BG): Five things everyone can do to make the world a better place. We do this to cultivate equity with individuals, relationships, communities, and society. It works.
1. The guts to be RESPECTFUL,
2. The guts to be COURTEOUS,
3. The guts to be HONEST,
4. The guts to LEND A HAND, &
5. The guts to SPEAK UP.

Testimonials

"Witnessing youth-led programming opened my eyes to a whole new generation of potential. The solutions we depend on require our youth to be included as co-producers. Peer Solutions provides the opportunity we need for our youth to recognize their worthiness and practice the personal efficacy required to start changing the world today" Senator Juan Mendez, 1-19-2021

"It's been inspiring to work with Peer Solutions at the Capitol to build a more just and equitable society. For decades, this organization has been on the frontlines empowering our youth to be compassionate, caring and thoughtful leaders, transforming countless lives in our community...