Peer Support Programs: How Everyday Citizens Become Lifelines

Not all healing comes from professionals. Sometimes the most powerful support comes from someone who has walked a similar path—a fellow survivor, a neighbor who understands, a friend who doesn't flinch.

Mental Health First Aid Israel is training thousands of peer supporters across the country—ordinary citizens equipped to offer first-line emotional care.

These volunteers learn to recognize signs of distress, offer nonjudgmental listening, and guide individuals toward professional resources when needed. Crucially, they do not diagnose or treat. They simply show up.

Peer support works because it dismantles the hierarchy of suffering. "You don't need to be an expert to help," says one MHFA trainer. "You just need to care—and to be trained in how to express it."