Overcoming Barriers to Integrating Peer Support in Mental Healthcare Systems

• By: Maggie G. Mortali, MPH, CEO Jennifer Da Silva, MPA, Director of Marketing & Communications National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City (NAMI-NYC)
• April 21st, 2026
• behavioral health, health systems, Medicaid reimbursement, peer support, recovery-oriented care, role clarity, serious mental illness, Spring 2026 Issue, workforce development
• 171    0

Peer support is one of the most promising approaches in behavioral health, demonstrating measurable improvements in recovery outcomes for people living with serious mental illness. Yet despite decades of research and growing policy support, peer specialists remain underutilized across many...

The Impact of Peer-Based Storytelling on Workplace Mental Health

• By: Maggie G. Mortali, MPH, CEO Jennifer Da Silva, MPA, Director of Marketing & Communications NAMI-NYC
• January 19th, 2026
• help-seeking behaviors, leadership engagement, lived experience storytelling, organizational culture, peer support, stigma reduction, Winter 2026 Issue, workforce wellbeing, workplace mental health
• 1346    1

NAMI-NYC participant reflections illustrate why a peer-based approach matters. One participant shared that they did not know anyone in their life who had experience depression and that hearing a peer speak made them feel less isolated, saying, “I don't have anyone who has depression around me, so...