The REAL Program

The Recovery Education and Learning (REAL) Program supports individuals with lived experience who are interested in becoming Certified Peer Specialists (CPS) or Mental Health Providers by providing Peer Support and Direct Care Training, as well as offering opportunities to put these new skills into practical use through various internship offerings.

The Peer Support and Direct Care Training is the first component of the REAL Program, where training participants will learn about what goes into working in a peer Support Role and a Mental Health Provider Role, while learning about the employment skills needed to prepare for work in human services.

Upon graduation from the Peer Support and Direct Care Training, participants will have an opportunity to do an internship in a Peer Support Role or Mental Health Provider Role, where they will have a chance to practice the skills & concepts they learned in the training, while also inspiring themselves to achieve their life goals.

The mission of the REAL Program is to give people receiving services an opportunity to learn about themselves and their own life journeys, to create the self-determined life that they desire and inspire others to do the same, to create effective change in the mental health system, and to be prepared for the workplace.

For more information about the REAL Program or to sign up for the Peer Support and Direct Care Training, contact Chris Laureano, REAL Program Director, either by phone at (617) 379-5275 or by e-mail at claureano@baycove.org.