In the blink of an eye, we have entered a New Year!
The Amputee Coalition Peer Support team has hit the ground running in 2020 to expand our reach and serve the growing needs of our community. While we look forward to big things this year, we want to highlight all the great work and impact we have made together in 2019. A huge “thank you” to our dedicated volunteers – Certified Peer Visitors (CPV), peer visitor trainers, support group leaders and youth camp counselors for making a real difference in so many lives! Your caring heart and nurturing spirit have a true impact.
- Over 1,800 peer visits were reported by our CPVs in 2019.
- Our mobile Support App launched Version 3 to offer enhanced in-app text and in-app video chat features and a new self-matching feature that allows individuals to match themselves with an available Certified Peer Visitor directly within the app. More updates and versions to come in 2020! To learn more about our support app, please visit our webpage.
- 45 CPV Trainings were conducted in 25 states, including Washington, DC. In total, we certified 272 new CPVs!
- Our civilian train-the-trainer workshop was held during our 2019 National Conference in San Antonio, TX where we certified 11 new CPV trainers.
- Our first specialty CPV training was conducted in November where eight inspiring individuals living well with multi-level amputations were added to our CPV roster.
- The Amputee Coalition partnered with MIB Agents, the leading pediatric osteosarcoma nonprofit dedicated to Making It Better for their community impacted by this aggressive bone cancer.
- Our partnership with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs was renewed at the end of 2019. Amputation Rehabilitation Coordinators (ARCs) are attending VA trainer workshops in 2020 which will assist with elevating peer support connections for our veterans with limb amputations.
- The Amputee Coalition made an impactful change to our Hospital Partnership Program in 2019 by removing the annual fee for hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. This change has provided more opportunities to partner with more facilities throughout the country assist with reimagining patient care coordination and improve patient outcome.
- We ended 2019 with nearly 1,000 active Certified Peer Visitors, over 425 registered support groups and 21 hospital partners!
We are diversifying our 2020 Certified Peer Visitor trainings as a way to connect individuals and families across a wide range of demographics with trained volunteers to support the unique and specific needs of our limb loss and limb difference community. Current 2020 CPV trainings are listed below:
- 1/24/20 – Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan | Detroit, MI (Civilian) (CLOSED)
- 2/17/20 – WakeMed Rehabilitation Hospital | Raleigh, NC (Pediatrics)
- 2/25/20 – 2/28/20 – VA Train-the-Trainer Workshop | Tampa, FL (Closed/Private)
- 2/28/20 – VA Peer Visitor Training | Tampa, FL (Closed/Private)
- Dates for 2020 National Conference CPV Trainings in Washington, DC Coming Soon!
Apply for a current or future CPV Training TODAY!
If you have an interest in seeing your city/state listed on our 2020 CPV Training Events Calendar, please help us bring a class to your community! Please email peersupport@amputee-coalition.org to learn more about our CPV training process.
For a full listing of our hospital partners, please click here. To learn more about our Certified Peer Visitor (CPV) program, please visit our CPV Program webpage. If you would like to connect with amputee support groups in your area or learn how to start a new support group, please visit our Support Group Network.