Crisis Peer Support Training: How Avalon Is Empowering Community Healers from Within

“We champion trauma-informed, person-centered care so every individual can discover that Recovery Starts Here.”

Standing in the Gap—One Peer at a Time

At Avalon Wellness & Recovery Center, we believe that healing doesn’t just happen in treatment rooms—it happens in relationships. Relationships rooted in trust, experience, and connection. That’s why we’re proud to share that our Executive Director, Kenneth A. Vick, is currently facilitating Missouri’s Crisis Peer Training, a specialized and transformative experience for certified peer specialists working throughout the state.

While the training is provided through a state initiative, Ken’s role as facilitator reflects Avalon’s broader mission: to empower those who empower others.

Over two days, he is guiding peer professionals through an immersive curriculum focused on supporting individuals in emotional and behavioral crisis. It’s practical, powerful, and rooted in lived experience.

And it matters—because peers aren’t just support workers. They are lifelines.

The Unique Power of Peer Support

There’s a special kind of trust that forms when someone says, “I’ve been there.” That’s the heart of peer support—and it’s why this work is so important.

Peer specialists are individuals who have walked through addiction, mental illness, trauma, and recovery. They’ve sat in the same waiting rooms. Faced the same fears. Climbed out of the same holes. And now, they’re reaching back to help others do the same.

They don’t replace clinical professionals—they complement them. They don’t diagnose—they connect. They don’t treat—they walk alongside.

In a time when behavioral health systems are stretched and communities are hurting, peers bring something no program can teach: authentic empathy backed by real-world resilience.

What the Crisis Peer Training Teaches—and Why It Matters

The Missouri Crisis Peer Training equips certified peer specialists with specific skills to support individuals in immediate or emerging crises. It’s not just about helping peers feel confident—it’s about ensuring those they serve are met with care, structure, and safety.

Ken’s facilitation focuses on five core components:

1. Trauma-Informed Care Foundations

   Understanding how trauma shapes behavior and response is critical. Peers are trained to recognize trauma responses, avoid re-traumatization, and offer supportive care grounded in emotional safety, choice, and empowerment.

2. Crisis De-Escalation and Intervention

   Crisis moments can escalate quickly without the right tools in place. Peers learn how to recognize signs of acute distress, respond calmly, and help individuals return to a state of stability—all while understanding their limits and knowing when to seek additional support.

3. Reflective Listening and Relationship-Building

   Crisis isn’t just about solving a problem—it’s about helping someone feel seen. Reflective listening helps peers build meaningful connections that foster trust and reduce fear.

4. Ethical Boundaries and Peer Integrity

   The line between helping and over-helping is thin. This training reinforces clear ethical guidelines and teaches peers how to maintain firm, professional boundaries, protecting both the peer and the person being served.

5. Self-Care, Supervision, and Sustainability

   Crisis work is emotionally intense. Without self-care and team support, peers risk burnout. This training emphasizes the importance of supervision, peer-to-peer check-ins, and long-term wellness strategies for those in helping roles.

Avalon's Mission: Reach People Before the Rapids

At Avalon, our approach is designed differently. We don’t just want to react to a crisis—we want to reach people before they hit the rapids. That means building systems of support that catch people upstream, before the consequences deepen, and before the pain becomes unmanageable.

Facilitating this training reflects that mission. Peer specialists are often the first connection someone has to hope, and we want that connection to be strong, informed, and trauma-aware.

From Ken Vick: “I know what it means to be in crisis—and I know what it means to have someone believe in you when you don’t believe in yourself. That’s what peers do. This training is designed to provide them with everything they need to do it well—and sustainably. This isn’t just about jobs. It’s about lives.”

Why This Work Matters to Communities

When peers are well-trained, communities are better supported. When crisis care is human-centered, outcomes improve. When leaders bring lived experience, entire systems change.

This is more than professional training. It’s about reimagining who gets to lead. It’s about valuing wisdom that comes from within. And it’s about ensuring that recovery is not just possible—but probable—for anyone willing to reach for it.

About Avalon Wellness & Recovery Center

Located in Lawrence, Kansas, Avalon Wellness & Recovery Center is a trauma-informed residential and detox center that provides compassionate, person-centered care for individuals living with substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions.

What makes us different is simple: We listen. We believe in people. We create space for healing to occur.

Our interdisciplinary team—comprising medical staff, clinicians, and peer specialists—works collaboratively to support each person’s unique recovery journey. Whether someone is walking in for the first time or returning after a struggle, they are met with dignity and support.

Join Us in Building a Better Future

We know that change doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens through partnerships, collaboration, and bold leadership that recognizes the value in lived experience.

Whether you’re a behavioral health professional, a civic leader, or a person in recovery, we invite you to join us in supporting and expanding access to crisis peer support training across our communities.

Recovery Starts Here. And with the right people, training, and support, it continues everywhere.