Our Story
Founded in 2021 in response to a community need for a peer-led organization, we have quickly become community leaders in outreach, supported housing and other services for vulnerable people. Greater Portland Peer Services is a newly established peer-led agency dedicated to utilizing a peer-support model (Certified Intentional Peer Support) to provide services that address the ever-increasing gaps in the system that contribute to homelessness, housing instability and inadequate resources for those in need.
The organization was formed by individuals who collectively have decades of experience in the creation and administration of social services programs – including peer led initiatives – with experience serving Portland’s most vulnerable and challenging clients.
Our values are based in the belief that Peer Support Workers – individuals now in recovery who have lived experience with homelessness, mental illness, substance use disorder, and often experience in the criminal justice system – are uniquely qualified and effective in forming authentic connections with others in need of support services.
“to offer emotional support, share knowledge, teach skills, provide practical assistance, and connect people with resources, opportunities, communities of support, and other people.” (Mead, 2023; Solomon, 2004)