If you do peer work, this page is for you.
Everything on this page is written plainly. MAPS has not started its services yet, so here is what it will do, what it will not do, and what you can do right now.
Do you need help today?
MAPS has no services running yet. Its research and training are still being set up and do not begin until funding is in place, insurance is bound and the scope has been through Maryland counsel review. MAPS does not handle complaints at all — that is not a service it is building. If something is happening at work right now, please do not wait for MAPS.
Please do not email names, workplace details or sensitive information — email is not anonymous. If you are in danger or in crisis, call or text 988, or 911 if someone is at immediate risk.
Maryland asks a lot of Certified Peer Recovery Specialists. You need 50 hours of training, 500 supervised hours, and 30 hours of supervision. You have an ethics code to follow. You do all of that while managing your own recovery.
What nobody has written down is where you are supposed to get those hours — what they cost, when they run, and which ones your employer will pay for. That is the gap MAPS is being built to close.
MAPS is doing two things: finding out what training peers actually need and cannot get, and then putting on the training that closes the gap.
- A map of the training you need. Which hours count toward certification, who runs them near you, what they cost, and when they actually happen.
- Help across all four domains. Advocacy, mentoring and education, recovery and wellness support, and ethical responsibility — including the ones that are hardest to find hours for.
- Mental Health First Aid and WRAP places. MAPS arranges and pays for the session. A certified instructor or facilitator teaches it — not MAPS.
- Digital skills for the job you already have. The documentation systems, telehealth tools and records platforms the work assumes you can already use.
- A survey that decides the order. What peers say they need most is what gets put on first.
The pilot is designed to provide all of this at no cost to peers, and to share nothing with an employer without the peer’s say-so.
None of these services has started. They are subject to funding, Maryland counsel review of the scope, insurance being bound, and approved operating protocols. What is available now.
Things MAPS will not do.
Knowing what we cannot do is what stops you waiting on help that was never coming.
Being clear about this protects you. If you know what MAPS cannot do, you do not waste months waiting for help that was never coming.
- We do not handle complaints. If something has gone wrong at work, MAPS is not the place. Who is: your employer’s HR process, MABPCB for anything about your certificate, or the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights for discrimination.
- We are not lawyers. We cannot tell you what claim you have or what deadline applies to your case. Who can: free legal aid, or a lawyer.
- We are not a union. We do not bargain over pay or contracts, and we cannot represent you in a labor case. Who can: a labor union.
- We do not issue or decide certificates. We can help you prepare for one. Who does: MABPCB.
- We do not teach Mental Health First Aid or WRAP ourselves. We book and pay for the session. Who teaches: instructors certified by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and facilitators certified by the Copeland Center.
- We are not therapists or a crisis line. Who is: a licensed provider, or call or text 988 any time.
What peer workers should be able to expect.
This is a draft. Peers in Baltimore will finish it — that is part of what the survey is for.
- A clear job. You should know what your role is, and not be pushed into clinical work that is not yours to do.
- Fair pay. Paid properly, on time, with the right job title for the work you actually do.
- A real route to certification. The hours you need should exist, be affordable, and be scheduled when you can actually attend.
- Training you can reach. Not priced above a shift, not always on a weekday morning, not three counties away.
- Your story stays yours. Nobody should make you share more of your recovery than the job needs.
- A safe place to work. A workload you can carry, the adjustments you need, and no harassment.
The survey is where you tell us which of these is furthest from true.
Doing this work costs something.
You do this work with your own recovery. That is what makes peer support work. It is also what makes this job different from other jobs.
Holding other people’s hard days takes something out of you. So does working close to your own story. So does being asked to share that story when you would rather not.
Good supervision helps put it back. So do fair pay, a clear role, and being able to raise a concern without risking your job. When those are missing, the work draws on you faster than you can refill.
The field is changing too. Certification, new posts and a place on clinical teams have brought pay and respect. They can also blur what your role is, and they can end when a grant ends.
None of that is a personal failing. It is a workplace problem. And workplace problems can be fixed — that is what MAPS is being built to help with.
What happens if you contact us.
MAPS services have not started yet, so we cannot take on a case today. You can still write, and you will get a real reply.
Email admin@mdpeeradvocate.org. You do not need to explain who you are or pick a category. “I do peer work and I have a question” is enough.
- Your message is read by the people organizing MAPS, and nobody else.
- It does not go to your employer.
- Nothing you send starts an investigation of anyone.
- It is deleted automatically about six months after it arrives.
- You can ask us to delete it sooner, and we will.
Email is not anonymous. If that matters to you, the survey is the safer way to tell us what is going on. See how we handle your information.
The Peer Resource Hub.
MAPS services have not started, but the Peer Resource Hub is up now. It is a free, plain directory of places in Maryland that can help — training and certification, benefits and legal help, crisis and recovery support.
You do not need an account, and nothing you look at is tracked or reported to anyone.
- Nothing on it is a referral from MAPS, and listing a service is not a recommendation of it.
- It is a starting point for finding help, not advice about your situation.
The survey is the useful thing.
Until services begin, the most useful thing you can do is answer the workforce survey. It decides what MAPS builds first, so what you say shapes it.
You can skip any question and stop at any point. Your answers are not used to identify you, they are deleted after about six months, and only counts and themes are ever published.
Need help right now?
MAPS is not a crisis service. Call or text 988 any time, or 911 if someone is in danger. For help finding services in Maryland, dial 211.
MAPS is a proposed model and remains subject to community validation, Maryland counsel review, funding, and partnership agreements. Nothing here is legal advice.
