From Philadelphia's Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS), this report celebrates the powerful contribution made by peer support staff and people in recovery each and every day by providing a summary and analysis of the results of and recommendations from the 2015 peer support asset-mapping process and by identifying next steps in our commitment to long-term recovery and the central role of peer culture, support and leadership.

In 2005, DBHIDS embarked on a comprehensive transformation of its service system. This effort engaged the entire community of providers, advocates, people participating in services, people in recovery, City government, strategic partners, institutions of higher learning and family members in a mission to establish the Philadelphia system as a national example of a successful recovery-oriented system of care. This transformation has sought to alter the concepts, practices, settings and the very architecture of the system. At its heart are ten core values: 
1. Strength-based approaches that promote hope
2. Community inclusion, partnership and collaboration
3. Person- and family-directed approaches
4. Family inclusion and leadership
5. Peer culture, support and leadership
6. Person-first, culturally competent approaches
7. Trauma-informed approaches
8. Holistic approaches toward care 
9. Care for the needs and safety of children and adolescents
10. Partnership and transparency

From the beginning, the fifth of these core values—peer culture, support and leadership—served as a central force in igniting and driving transformation. Meaningful involvement and leadership by people in recovery has been one of the strongest elements in the success of this movement. Their passion and commitment have helped them transform, not only their own lives and those of their peers, but the life of an entire system.