Transforming Lives - The Newsletter of The Harris Center Issue 2 - Fall 2016 | Page 4

The P.E.E.R.S. For Hope House - Meeting an unmet need

Kim Tope is a licensed master social worker and a certified
anger resolution therapist. More pertinent to her current role
at The Harris Center, Kim is also a certified peer specialist
who uses her own lived experience in recovery from mental
illness to help those who find themselves in need of support
and treatment through a one-of-a-kind program in Texas
known as The P.E.E.R.S. for Hope House. “I never dreamed a
job would exist for which a qualification is having a mental
health diagnosis. My past crises and struggles have become
opportunities to create and sustain relationships with peers
who stay with us as Guests,” said Kim.
This voluntary residential program of The Harris Center opened
in September 2016, and it provides person-centered, engaging,
empowering and recovery-oriented support to Guests in crisis
who, without this level of care, might require a more traditional

Anyone interested in accessing services through The
P.E.E.R.S. for Hope House should contact the HelpLine at
713-970-7000 for additional information.

psychiatric hospitalization. The goal of the program is simple
yet innovative: to provide services in a supportive, nonjudgmental setting by professional peer staff who have lived
experience in recovery from mental illness.
Focused on overall wellness, The P.E.E.R.S. for Hope House
aims to address the immediate needs of individuals who
find themselves experiencing an increase in symptoms and
a need for additional supports but who have not yet reached
a need for hospitalization. Peer staff listen to and work with
Guests individually and in small groups to create Wellness and
Recovery Action Plans and to strengthen necessary coping skills
so that they may return to their everyday lives better equipped
to deal with their mental illness and continue working toward
recovery.