Our Peer Support program aims to connect caregivers with volunteer Peer Mentors who have similar experiences to provide emotional support. This support is offered over the phone. The frequency of your connections with your mentor is flexible and will be determined by you and your mentor. It’s important to note that volunteer Peer Mentors do not offer advocacy, medical advice, counselling, psychotherapy, or any other form of intervention.

If you want to join the program, please complete this registration form. If you’re unsure whether the 1:1 Peer Support program is right for you, we would be happy to discuss the program with you in more detail. Please e-mail peersupport@ontariocaregiver.ca or call the Program Lead at 416-362-2273 x1016.

The Peer Mentors are volunteers and caregivers who have the experience and passion to support other caregivers during their journey. Before being matched with another caregiver to offer support, our volunteer Peer Mentors undergo a detailed screening process. This process includes a thorough interview, reference checks, criminal reference check, and a training program delivered by the Ontario Caregiver Organization. Our volunteer Peer Mentors have a wide range of caregiving experience, and we are always recruiting more caregivers to ensure as much diversity in our mentors as possible. Peer Mentors also receive ongoing supervision, training, and support from the Peer Support Program Lead.

Once you have registered for the program, the Peer Support Program Lead will contact you by email to provide more details about the program and to send you a Confidentiality Pledge, which all participants are required to sign. The Confidentiality Pledge is in place to ensure privacy and confidentiality in all your conversations with your Peer Mentor.

You will receive a username and password via email to access OCO’s exclusive Peer Support Portal at ontariocaregiver.ca/peersupport. Once you have received your login details, you can log in and choose which Peer Mentor you would like to speak with. Only available Peer Mentors will be displayed on the website, so make sure to check back if you don’t find a Peer Mentor with the experience you are looking for. After selecting a Peer Mentor, there is nothing more for you to do! Your chosen Peer Mentor will reach out by phone to introduce themselves, and you will then be able to take it from there.

If you would prefer to select a Peer Mentor over the phone, please call the Peer Support Program Lead at 416-362-2273 x1016. We will be happy to share details about our available Peer Mentors with you over the phone to help you select the best match.

Matches can last up to six months, although not every match will go on for that long. When you feel you no longer need support and are ready to end your match, simply inform your Peer Mentor. If for any reason you do not want to notify your Peer Mentor, you can contact the Peer Support Program Lead at peersupport@ontariocaregiver.ca or by phone at 416-362-2273 x1016. At the end of a match, we will also send a survey to evaluate the program and your experience so that we can continue to improve the support we offer.

We recommend that Peer Mentors contact caregiver Participants as often as once per week, especially at the beginning of the program. As you get to know each other better, you may decide to communicate less frequently if that works better for you.

Once you have registered for the 1:1 Peer Support program, the Peer Support Program Lead will contact you within 3-5 business days to share the required Confidentiality Pledge and provide access to OCO’s exclusive online Peer Support Portal for selecting your Peer Mentor. After you select a Peer Mentor, they will get in touch with you by phone. Since our Peer Mentors are volunteers and often current caregivers, we cannot guarantee when or what day they will be able to call you. Your Peer Mentor should call within one week. If you do not hear from your Peer Mentor, please notify the Peer Support Program Lead at peersupport@ontariocaregiver.ca or by phone at 416-362-2273 x1016.

We are constantly looking for new volunteer Peer Mentors and strive to bring in a diverse group of caregivers with various caregiving experiences. You are encouraged to sign up for the program and keep checking in with us to see if any new Peer Mentors have joined who would be a good match for your needs. While we may not have a Peer Mentor available with the same caregiving experience as yours, we often find successful peer support matches even if the Peer Mentor’s experience is different. The 1:1 Peer Support program can provide emotional support and validation for common caregiving experiences, such as managing difficult feelings, navigating family dynamics, or creating a self-care plan. A Peer Mentor can relate to you based on shared caregiving experiences, even if their own experience differs from yours.

This is a telephone-based support program only. For the privacy and safety of all participants, Peer Mentors and caregivers will not meet in person. All meetings will be conducted over the phone or through video chat if both participants are comfortable with it.

The purpose of the 1:1 Peer Support program is to provide emotional support. The Peer Mentors will not act as advocates, provide in-person support, or offer any medical advice. They can, however, offer a supportive ear and feedback based on their own lived experience.

All of the personal information collected for this program is private and confidential. The Ontario Caregiver Organization uses this information to understand the types of caregivers using the program and to help caregiver Participants connect with the Peer Mentor that is right for them.  Your personal information will not be shared with anyone outside of the OCO staff. Only your first name, phone number, and relevant caregiving details will be shared with the Peer Mentor you select. Peer Mentors receive training on the importance of privacy and confidentiality and both parties involved in the match are required to sign a Confidentiality Pledge prior to the match beginning.

The 1:1 Peer Support program is not a crisis response program. If you are in distress or crisis, please dial 911 or visit the Distress and Crisis Centre Ontario website to be connected to an instant chat or to call a local crisis line in your area: www.dcontario.org.

If at any time your circumstances change, or you have questions or want to discuss anything related to your peer support experience, please reach out to the Peer Support Program Lead by email at peersupport@ontariocaregiver.ca or by phone at 416-362-2273 x1016.

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