ROSE (Recovery Oriented Supports and Engagement): Engaging youth experiencing homelessness towards recovery

ROSE (Recovery Oriented Supports & Engagement) offers voluntary, low barrier recovery services to any youth within Portland’s Homeless Youth Continuum, which includes Outside In, New Avenues for Youth, Janus Youth Programs, and the Native American Youth and Family Center. Utilizing peer mentors with lived experience, drug and alcohol specialists, and mental health specialists, ROSE works across four agencies to offer consistent supports, resources, referrals, community recreation groups, and recovery oriented options that are based on the individual. Peer mentors bring a critical perspective and support style to the ROSE team, while also having to navigate tricky boundary situations and maintain their own recovery and self care. The peer mentors often have minimal prior work experience, but are offered trainings, certification opportunities, supervision, and feedback in order to gain new skills and opportunities. This workshop will focus on what its like using harm reduction in our daily work, the unique and amazing experience of training and working alongside peer mentors, and how "success" doesn't always look exactly like how one might expect it to. It will also include a brainstorming session on how to support homeless youth to find a recovery plan or resource that works for them, short films made by youth, and the chance to ask one of our terrific peer mentors questions about her experience doing the work.