Compeer

Non-profit mental health organisation

For the hamlet in Alberta, see Compeer, Alberta.

CompeerFormation| 1973 (1973)

|

Founder| Bernice W. Skirboll
Founded at| Rochester, New York
Type| Incorporated
Legal status| Non-profit
Purpose| Support for individuals affected by mental illness
Methods| Adult men and women volunteer to regularly spend time with an adult or youth who is receiving mental health services.
Membership| 5000
Website| compeer.org

Compeer, Inc.[1] is an international, non-profit organization centered around support for mental illness. The first Compeer program was established in Rochester, New York[2] in 1973 by Bernice W. Skirboll.[3]

## Volunteer-based model

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The Compeer model matches a volunteer from the community with an individual with mental illness from the same community.[4] The volunteers are provided training and resources related to mental health care throughout the program. Adult volunteers then go on to spend time regularly with an adult or youth who is receiving mental health services. The organization's goal is to provide supportive friendships for people in mental health care, typically in complement to other therapies, in order to support them towards recovery from mental illness.[5]

The National Institute of Mental Health chose Compeer as a model program in 1982 and helped fund the development of similar programs throughout the United States.[citation needed] Today, Compeer is an international mental health organization with approximately 5,000 volunteers at nearly 100 locations in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.[6] The volunteer program has more than 80 chapters that serve about 65,000 adults and children around the world.[7]

## References

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1. ^ "Compeer International – Compeer International". Retrieved 2023-02-07.
2. ^ Compeer Archived 2008-05-06 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ Woodside, Marianne; McClam, Tricia (1990). An Introduction to Human Services. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. p. 72\. ISBN 9780534130268.
4. ^ Lefley, Harriet P.; Wasow, Mona (2013). Helping Families Cope With Mental Illness. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers. p. 186\. ISBN 978-3718605804.
5. ^ "Compeer Inc". Guidestar.org. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
6. ^ Compeer - About Us Archived 2008-07-25 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ Levine, Jerome; Levine, Irene S. (2009). Schizophrenia For Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc. pp. 181. ISBN 9780470259276.

## External links

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Look up compeer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

* Compeer International Home Page
* List of Compeer Program Locations