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Characteristics of Peer Respites in the United States: Expanding the Continuum of Care for Psychiatric Crisis

Peer respites are recovery-oriented services where people who identify as having lived experience of extreme mental health states (peers) support individuals experiencing, or at risk of, crises in a homelike environment. This brief report describes data from the Peer Respite Essential Features survey, conducted biannually from 2014 to 2020, which explores the peer respite model and program challenges. Method: Peer respites nationwide were invited to participate if they met specific guidelines, resulting in 32 programs across 14 states in 2020. Results: Results focus on the data collected in 2020 and compare past reports where applicable. Characteristics including funding, guest accommodations and policies, and how the programs were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: More research is needed to understand the relationship between program characteristics and effectiveness of peer respites compared to other crisis diversion services and how to better support these growing programs.