Brittany (left) and Kendra (right) are two of ShelterCare’s six peer support specialists, and everyday they use their past experiences with homelessness, addiction, and incarceration to help others. “Every day, we return to the dark place we escaped from to pull people out,” says Brittany.
A peer support specialist is a person who has lived experience with recovery and has been trained to help others reach their personal goals. A pivotal part of the ShelterCare team, they use personal experiences to give hope and courage to their peers.
Like many of the individuals they serve, Brittany and Kendra each had difficult upbringings where they were exposed to abuse, addiction, and hardship from a young age. However, despite these circumstances, they always knew their purpose was to help others. “My entire life growing up, I knew I needed to help people,” says Kendra. “I can’t explain it - maybe it was my child mind justifying all the trauma, abuse, and addiction I was exposed to - but I knew it was my calling.”
