The Peer Helpers Program builds knowledge, resiliency, and coping skills in all students, and empowers them to be emotionally, socially, behaviorally, and academically successful for a lifetime.

Who are Peer Helpers?
K-12 students, who have been taught core skills in order to help identify and support their at-risk classmates. They offer their fellow students encouragement and assistance with any challenges they may be facing. Peer Helpers serve as tutors, mentors, mediators, and advocates for their peers, and assist new students in transitioning between schools and communities.

Why are they important?
According to cdc.gov, suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-34, and 1-in-5 youth (ages 13-18), lives with a mental health condition.

When a young person is experiencing a crisis, they typically reach out to their peers for support long before turning to an adult. The Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation is devoted to promoting the mental health of our youth, and empowering them to advocate for one another.

How are they trained and what do they do?

The Jennifer Claire Moore Foundation provides training, funding, and support for Peer Helper programs in all Baldwin County Public elementary, intermediate, middle and high schools, and several private school systems. Peer Helpers is built on the Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework in which the key principles include building on the strengths of young people, identifying risky behaviors early, and being proactive in addressing them. This framework helps to promote and engage young people, while instilling leadership qualities. Peer Helpers are students that are trained to confidentially listen to their classmates and participate in school/community service projects. The program is tailored to the needs of each school. In general, Peer Helpers participate in welcoming new students, leading kindness (anti-bullying) campaigns, presenting character education, and tutoring students. In addition, middle school Peer Helpers mentor students, present bullying prevention and intervention information, and mediate disputes between fellow students.