Learn How VOA|ReST
Can Benefit Your
Organization and Employees
A Turn-key Benefit For Your People
VOA|ReST Can Benefit Your Organization and Employees
VOA|ReST can be customized for organizations and employee assistance programs (EAP) to serve specific populations as a way to build personal and professional resiliency. The partnership between Volunteers of America and Peer Support Solutions (PSS) means we deliver client-centric, online solutions with excellence, integrity and flexibility. Studies show that social support by peers can decrease morbidity and mortality rates, improve self-efficacy, and increase self-reported health status and self-care skills. A study in 2015 by PSS demonstrated that their video-based peer support meetings could reduce the severity of depression by 33%.
Whether you’re at a small business or a global corporation,
we’ll provide the solutions and services your team needs.
- Moral resilience education and consulting
- ½ day Resilience Strength Training workshops
- Facilitator training
- Online peer support groups
- Turnkey access for employee engagement
- API technology for integration and usage tracking
- Customization for specific populations
- Tailored for schedules
- Facilitator scheduling and quality management
- VOA|ReST qualified facilitators and trainers
- Usage reporting and analytics
- Regular client check-in meetings and reports
Our Current Customizations
The American Medical Association and American Hospital Associations both list peer support programs as a key component for creating a resilient organization. “Studies have shown that in such times, most physicians prefer to receive support from colleagues rather than mental health practitioners, and talking with colleagues after medical errors has been shown to positively correlate with physician resilience. While some may also wish to seek professional mental health treatment, there may be cultural and sometimes structural barriers to receiving such services. Peer supporters can facilitate connections with mental health services by de-stigmatizing such services and facilitating access to them.” (American Medical Association, “Peer Support Solutions for Physicians” 2020).
Before the pandemic, one in three adults in the U.S. ages 50 to 80 lacked regular companionship (National Poll on Health Aging), and 43% of community-dwelling older adults self-reported feeling lonely (Global Health Research and Policy). Social isolation, depression, and anxiety have worsened due to COVID-19 with a study finding 73% of older adults reporting feelings of loneliness just one month into the pandemic (U.S. Senate testimony). VOA|ReST is a resource partner of Far From Alone, helping older Americans stay more socially connected (and less lonely), which can ultimately improve overall health.
VOA|ReST 4 First Responders is a one-hour, online, confidential, small group support session designed to help first responders process experiences of moral distress, build and maintain resilience, and remain committed to their work. Groups are facilitated by peer specialists who receive training in understanding these concepts and effectively moderate groups of up to 10 participants. VOA|ReST 4 First Responders uses strategies with therapeutic dimensions, but it is not a treatment program and is not therapy. This program is designed for first responders including fire fighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical technicians & paramedics, dispatchers, and Emergency Room medical personnel who want to build resiliency and/or process moral distress. Schedule a session today.
VOA|ReST 4 Vets is based on strategies used in our evidence-based program Resilience Strength Training (RST), a peer-facilitated program for veterans with moral injury. Military veterans often struggle with the transition to civilian life, sometimes for years. That transition can include feeling like no one fathoms what they are going through and believing that civilians can’t be trusted to understand. VOA|ReST 4 Vets is facilitated by veterans who understand that struggle and the moral distress and moral injury that prevent their fellow veterans from being resilient. As veterans share their struggles in small groups, validate each other’s experiences, connect, and feel heard and affirmed, they recover resilience, trust, and feelings of worthiness and hope. Schedule a session today.
Former Customizations
VOA|ReST was customized to address the trauma, grief, guilt, shame and isolation experienced by older Americans who have fallen victim to financial fraud and scams. Over 300 people called the AARP Fraud Watch Network Hotline. Volunteers answering the calls were trained to provide guidance and referrals to help callers with avoiding or recovering from fraud, but they did not have the resources to help people process their moral distress. Then, with VOA|ReST, callers were able to be registered immediately for online VOA|ReST support, where they could join a session nearly any day of the week to connect with others who are going through the same demoralizing experiences. In one hour, these individuals had the opportunity to join a community of peers, share their personal story, reflect, and find a new outlook that comes from a place of strength and connectedness.
