Before I really understood what a peer specialist was, my opinion was made up by someone else.
“Why would you pay a sponsor?” I heard a researcher scoff during a lab meeting. He was referring to sponsorship — the volunteer exchange of support rooted in recovery, found in the rooms of 12-step groups. He recoiled at the idea of compensating someone for empathy, accountability, and advice. And if that’s all peer specialists did, why pay them?