William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital

Kati Beck is a Certified Peer Support Specialist based out of the Rockford VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic. Peer Support Specialists are not unique to the VA system, but they play a specific and important role in the continuum of treatments the VA offers to its Veteran patients. A Peer Support Specialist at the VA is a Veteran who has struggled with mental health, substance abuse issues, or homelessness and has managed to overcome them. By sharing their experiences as Veterans who have worked through their own personal challenges, combined with their clinical training, peers bring hope to people in recovery and promote a sense of belonging within the community.

Peer Support Specialists provide additional resource for Veterans

MADISON, Wis.  — October 15th, 2015 was the first annual Global Peer Support Celebration day. Since then, each year, Peer Support Specialists around the world take that day to recognize the success of peer support programs in addressing mental health and addiction.

Peer Support Specialists are not unique to the VA system, but they play a specific and important role in the continuum of treatments the VA offers to its Veteran patients. A Peer Support Specialist at the VA is a Veteran who has struggled with mental health, substance abuse issues, or homelessness and has managed to overcome them.

By sharing their experiences as Veterans who have worked through their own personal challenges, combined with their clinical training, peers bring hope to people in recovery and promote a sense of belonging within the community. 

Peers can relate to their fellow Veterans on a different level than their doctors or social workers and act as a liaison between the Veteran and their recovery team. 

The Madison VA currently has 6 Peer Support Specialists.

Kati Beck, a Certified Peer Support Specialist based out of the Rockford VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic, talked about one of the Veterans she worked with that made an impact on her.

“One of the first Veterans that really stood out to me at the VA was loud, bossy, crass and, in general, a know-it-all.  We had a love/hate relationship most of the time,” said Beck. “But I never took it personally. This was a man who knew hard times.” 

When the Veteran went into Hospice, Beck transitioned care over to Peer Support Specialist Jason Loeffler in Madison.

“I worked with the Veteran every other day, talking about his military service, friends, anything that made him comfortable,” said Loeffler, “providing that compassion and understanding to help him manage what he was going through.

Easing that transition is a role Loeffler takes seriously. “Going out with some dignity and pride was how he wanted his friends to remember him,” said Loeffler. “Never afraid.  Never sad.  Just proud of who he was.”

Why was it important for Peer Support to be there? 

For Beck, there are a lot of layers to it. 

“It is important for them to have someone to lean on and talk with.  Sometimes a family member needs help navigating the VA system, and I can be there to guide them through that process,” said Beck. “But mostly it is for the Veteran. That despite all they had been through, they can at least have some peace knowing they have support so they can continue to show bravery as they head into their last big journey.”

For Loeffler, “It’s the understanding between Veterans that allows them to be comfortable and open up. That relationship is what enables healing and hope.”

Peer Support Specialists play a critical clinical role every day in care management for our Nation’s Veterans. If you are a patient in the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital network and are interested in working with a Peer Support Specialist, please contact your primary care provider.

For more information about the Madison VA Hospital, visit www.madison.va.gov or www.facebook.com/MadisonVAHospital.

Jason Loeffler is a Certified Peer Support Specialist based out of the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison. Peer Support Specialists are not unique to the VA system, but they play a specific and important role in the continuum of treatments the VA offers to its Veteran patients. A Peer Support Specialist at the VA is a Veteran who has struggled with mental health, substance abuse issues, or homelessness and has managed to overcome them. By sharing their experiences as Veterans who have worked through their own personal challenges, combined with their clinical training, peers bring hope to people in recovery and promote a sense of belonging within the community.

When the Veteran went into Hospice, Beck transitioned care over to Peer Support Specialist Jason Loeffler in Madison.

“I worked with the Veteran every other day, talking about his military service, friends, anything that made him comfortable,” said Loeffler, “providing that compassion and understanding to help him manage what he was going through.

Easing that transition is a role Loeffler takes seriously. “Going out with some dignity and pride was how he wanted his friends to remember him,” said Loeffler. “Never afraid.  Never sad.  Just proud of who he was.”

Why was it important for Peer Support to be there? 

For Beck, there are a lot of layers to it. 

“It is important for them to have someone to lean on and talk with.  Sometimes a family member needs help navigating the VA system, and I can be there to guide them through that process,” said Beck. “But mostly it is for the Veteran. That despite all they had been through, they can at least have some peace knowing they have support so they can continue to show bravery as they head into their last big journey.”

For Loeffler, “It’s the understanding between Veterans that allows them to be comfortable and open up. That relationship is what enables healing and hope.”

Peer Support Specialists play a critical clinical role every day in care management for our Nation’s Veterans. If you are a patient in the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital network and are interested in working with a Peer Support Specialist, please contact your primary care provider.

For more information about the Madison VA Hospital, visit www.madison.va.gov or www.facebook.com/MadisonVAHospital.