Respite Beds
Often when things are breaking down, we are not in a situation where hospitalization will serve our needs. Peer Support may be all we need and desire, along with a safe place to stay the night.
At each of the three Peer Support, Wellness, and Respite Centers, we have three private rooms where peers can stay for up to a week at a time and receive peer support and respite in lieu of psychiatric hospitalization.
Qualifications
To qualify for a respite bed, a person must:
~ Identify as a current or former consumer of mental health services
~ Be 18 years of age or older
~ Not be a danger to self or others
~ Have a Proactive Interview on file with the Center.
Proactive Interviews
A Proactive Interview is conducted with a peer staff at a Peer Support, Wellness, and Respite Center when you're doing well. It allows particiupants and peer staff to form a relationship that will be useful during a future time of respite. Many times in a hospital setting, we are surrounded by strangers. The Proactive Interview serves to surround peer guests with friends and supporters.
The Proactive Interview also allows participants to direct their own recovery while in respite. Participants define meaning for crisis and decide what challenges it presents to them. We support peers in meeting those challenges, and we hold each other accountable in this process. A peer relationship is based in mutuality and on multual responsibility.
Proactive Interviews can be given by appointment or by visiting the Peer Support, Wellness, and Respite Centers during hours of operation and requesting an interview.
The Peer Support, Wellness, and Respite Centers of Georgia are projects of the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network in partnership with and and funded through a contract with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
