Opportunity
Peer respites are voluntary, home-like programs that offer a safe and supportive environment for individuals navigating a self-defined mental health crisis. In November 2024, with support from the Four Pines Fund, Pathways Vermont opened a new peer respite. Recognizing the importance of measuring its impact, Four Pines and Pathways prioritized documenting the program’s implementation and outcomes to inform future policy decisions around peer respites in Vermont. They engaged HSRI for its expertise in evaluating peer support and mental health initiatives to support this effort.
Approach
To evaluate the impact of Pathways Vermont Peer Respite, HSRI is using a mixed-methods approach that blends qualitative and quantitative data to assess both individual outcomes and broader effects on the local behavioral health system. A key part of this work is our partnership with a Lived Experience Workgroup—individuals with firsthand experience navigating Vermont’s crisis service system. As paid members of the evaluation team, they provide essential insights and help shape every stage of the evaluation, ensuring that the process is grounded in real-world perspectives and guided by those most directly affected.
Impact
By examining outcomes identified collaboratively by Pathways Vermont, the Lived Experience Workgroup, and community partners, the evaluation will explore both individual and system-level changes. Guest outcomes such as rest and relief, reconnection with self and others, and overall wellbeing will be explored alongside broader system impacts like diversion from inpatient and emergency settings and shifts in how peer services are perceived by the program’s community partners. These findings will inform decisions about whether—and how—to replicate and expand peer respites across Vermont and potentially on a national scale, advancing more person-centered approaches in behavioral health systems.