Peer Support: The Heart of Independent Living
Image: A group of CPWD consumers participates in an Easter egg hunt as an activity with a Peer Support group.
Independent living isn’t just about providing services and supports for people with disabilities. It’s also about championing their human rights, regardless of ability. Independent Living Philosophy acknowledges that everyone has the right to be heard, seen and respected. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities affirms that all people deserve “respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy… and independence”.
These inherent rights are woven into programs and services, and we live and breathe them as a Center for Independent Living (CIL). But there’s another element that lifts the lives and spirits of people with disabilities; a kind of ineffable catalyst that makes all the philosophies, services, actions, and efforts even more powerful. That’s Peer Support.
In a nutshell, Peer Support is people with disabilities sharing with and helping people with disabilities. In the same way pregnant mothers or members of AA find a unique kinship, strength, and camaraderie in their shared experience, Peer Support groups enliven the senses of confidence, possibility, and capacity for people with disabilities. Sharing their stories, their challenges, successes, goals, dreams, and personal experiences, they collectively alchemize that magic something that lights a fire under hope, determination, and possibility; all while cultivating friendships and community.
In their 2001 groundbreaking work on peer support, Mead, Hilton, and Curtis wrote: ”True healing often happens not through systems of control, but through relationships built on mutual respect and shared understanding. When we honor each other’s humanity, we create space for real connection and real change.”
support, guide, and stand beside one another than someone who has walked a similar path.
Image: A banner for the first center for Independent living in Berkeley
The idea of Peer Support took root in the early 1970s in Berkeley, California, where disability rights leader Ed Roberts and a group of fellow students with disabilities started the first CIL. They were tired of being told what they could and couldn’t do by doctors, institutions, and systems that didn’t see them as equals. Instead, they built a community of people with disabilities to empower each other, share resources, and advocate for their rights on their own terms. (To learn more about the history of the Independent Living Movement, check out this previous article.)
As the Independent Living Movement grew, so did the recognition that Peer Support wasn’t just effective, it was essential for independent living. When Congress passed the 1984 Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, formally recognizing and funding CILs, Peer Support was written directly into the law as one of the Core Services each center must provide. The message was clear. And research backed this up. A 1984 study from the Research & Training Center on Independent Living at the University of Kansas found that more than half of CILs were already offering peer counseling and support services. These programs helped people build independent living skills, navigate systems, and most importantly, find connection and confidence through relationships with others who had “been there”.
Peer Support at CPWD: Finding Strength in Shared Experience
CPWD recognizes the power and importance of Peer Support and facilitates regular Peer Support groups for consumers.
Some groups are open to anyone with any disability, where people of all ages and backgrounds can connect around common themes and experiences. Other groups focus on specific topics, such as vision loss or mental health, offering a place for participants to share freely about what they’re facing in life, or other experiences related to having a disability. We also offer several youth peer groups where young people can connect about being a teenager with a disability, what happens when you graduate, talk about job seeking and life beyond high school.
Since COVID, some participants prefer to meet online, while others want to meet in person. CPWD offers online, hybrid, and in-person Peer Support groups to ensure access for all who want to participate.
Image: A group of consumers takes a silly picture together during an outing to Rocky Mountain National Park with a Peer Support Group.
There’s something profoundly different about receiving support from someone who truly understands. This is the heart of lived expertise, and it’s one of the most transformative aspects of peer support. Professionals may offer tools and advice, but peers offer presence and experience. They’ve felt the frustration of navigating inaccessible systems. They’ve faced physical, emotional, and social barriers and found ways through. And they have overcome barriers and had great successes; shifted their perceptions of self and the world, and achieved independent living goals.
Lived expertise helps cut through stigma and isolation. It shifts the dynamic from “I’m here to help you” to “I’m here with you.” That shift can be life-changing. It reminds us that we’re not alone, that others have walked similar paths, and that we have a right to write our own story.
Peer Support and Mental Health
The connection between disability and mental health is real. Whether it’s the emotional toll of discrimination, the stress of navigating systems, or the loneliness that can come from being misunderstood or feeling different, many people with disabilities face mental health challenges.
Peer Support offers a different kind of support that is rooted in empathy, not hierarchy. According to research published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Peer Support services have been shown to reduce hospitalization rates, increase hope and empowerment, and improve quality of life among individuals managing mental health conditions.
Image: A blind woman walks down a sidewalk while using a white cane.
Last year, a CPWD consumer who had been struggling with depression came to her first “Coffee Talk” Peer Support group at our Thornton office. The weight of the winter season, the challenges of living with a disability, and difficulties at home had left her feeling isolated and overwhelmed. But with gentle encouragement from her Beyond Vision skills trainer, Alexia Diaz, she took a brave step and walked through the door.
At first, she was quiet. But as others began to share, something shifted. She found the courage to speak, to name what she was feeling. By the end of the group, she said how much it meant to be in a space where she didn’t have to explain herself, where others just understood. That one moment of connection became the spark she needed to start looking forward to her days again.
From there, her journey began to unfold. She formed a meaningful friendship with another peer in the group, and together, they started a book club that now includes another CPWD consumer. Not long after, she spent a transformative week at the Colorado Center for the Blind, where she learned new skills and began reclaiming her independence with a renewed sense of confidence. She’s now joined our “Walk, Talk & Roll” group with her new lightweight white cane in hand, eager to practice, connect, and keep moving forward.
Her story is one of many. It speaks to the quiet, powerful ways peer support plants the seeds of hope and change. Not through fixing or directing, but by creating a space where people are seen, valued, and feel free to grow at their own pace.
What makes Peer Support at CPWD especially meaningful is that it doesn’t stop with our programs. The majority of our staff and board members are also people with disabilities. That means the people offering support, making organizational decisions, and shaping our services are often those who’ve faced the same challenges and who are deeply committed to building a more accessible and inclusive world for everyone.
There’s no one way Peer Support looks or works, and that’s the beauty of it. Whether someone is grieving a new diagnosis, exploring independence, or just looking for community, Peer Support at CPWD is here to say: Your experience matters; your voice matters; and you don’t have to do it alone.
To explore the multiple Peer Support groups CPWD offers, visit this page for information and upcoming groups. There are no charges for participating. Hope to see you soon!
If you have any other questions about Peer Support, please email us at info@cpwd.org