Peer Support Program

Redcloud, by The Gunnison Project, is a peer-to-peer support program created for students in Gunnison, CO.

Almost every student in Gunnison’s secondary schools acknowledge one thing: Gunnison is in a mental health crisis. The Gunnison Project believes that Redcloud is a critical first step in addressing this.

Peer support is the single most effective tool we have to solve this crisis. We must be able to use it; and we must be able to use it correctly.

This program, in this published edition, took over a year to develop. We took every moment we had to refine and expand every aspect of how we train, practice, and use peer support.

Redcloud was developed by students with lived experience. Redcloud was developed by students who have struggled, as well as students who have been helped during hard times. We took the science we already have and combined it with voices from the real world. We asked what effective peer support is to students; and we made it applicable.

We have a long way to move forward, and we have to do it together.

Redcloud is about giving every student a supporter, an advocate, and a champion.

Right now, hope is on the horizon. With the help of Redcloud, hope will be here.

The Foundations We Use

Here’s the seven standards of peer support established in Dr. Cheryl MacNeil and Shery Mead’s 2003 report on the topic.

Peer support promotes critical learning and the renaming of experiences.

The culture of peer support provides a sense of community.

There is great flexibility in the kinds of support provided by peers.

Peer support activities, meetings, and conversations are instructive.

There is mutual responsibility across peer relationships.

Peer support is being clear about and setting limits.

Peer support involves sophisticated levels of safety.

See our implementation >