Peer work holds the potential to drive positive change for all involved, including peer workers themselves, the people they serve, and the organisations they work in. Peer work, co-production and service user leadership are progressively gaining traction in the Irish health and social services landscape, increasingly recognised as core aspects of services that truly meet the needs of the community they serve. 

This guide was developed under the guidance of Community Response and the South Inner City Drug and Alcohol Task Force. The idea for this guide had its source in two places:

1. During research consultations in Dublin’s South Inner City, on ways to better include people who came from countries outside Ireland, service providers noted the importance of training peers to help provide services to people from their own communities, and concurrently it was noted that there is a lack of standards or agreed good practice in relation to peer work.
2. In the recently developed good practice guide, Working Better with Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse Populations, peer workers from affected communities is identified as an effective way to increase engagement with, and the quality of, work with these communities. 

How was it developed?

Rather than just relying on other existing guidance and research, consultation was undertaken with peer workers, service users and staff in the South Inner City, to ensure guidance would reflect their needs, and be useable by them. The following steps were taken to develop the guide:

• Consultation with peer workers
• Consultation with front-line staff
• Consultation with sector experts
• Reviews of peer reviewed literature and international literature 

What is it for?

It provides guidance and practical tools to drug, alcohol and homeless services who are considering embarking upon this important journey, and additional ideas or reference material for those seeking to build upon or improve existing peer work initiatives.