Peer mentoring is defined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as ‘the use of same age or same background educators to convey educational messages to a target group. Peer educators work by endorsing “healthy” norms, beliefs and behaviours within their own peer group or “community” and challenging those which are “unhealthy”’ (2002: 8). The primary focus of this study was to explore the views of the stakeholders in peer mentoring. Studies have rarely, if ever, focused on the perspective of the peer mentor, instead they have examined the impact on the mentee.

This study sought to build upon existing research into peer mentoring in the drug dependency treatment sector by exploring the perceived benefits and drawbacks of the intervention from the perspectives of peer mentors and service providers. To further understanding of peer mentoring in treatment for dependency, the following questions were asked:
• What are the benefits of peer mentoring as perceived by the mentor and service providers?
• What are the drawbacks of peer mentoring as perceived by the mentor and service providers?
• What added benefit does a peer mentor bring, as opposed to a non-peer mentor?
• Why do the parties involved think that mentoring is beneficial?