About Volunteer Peer Leader Training

Healthy Change

Learning to lead the “Healthy Change” workshop is not hard! You can be part of an exciting community initiative to prevent and better manage chronic diseases within our health system.

Interested community members, typically volunteers, can train to deliver the “Healthy Change with Chronic Conditions” workshop. Both the workshop and the training course have been designed and tested by the Self-Management Resource Center. Volunteer Peer Leader Training is a free 4-day process. Trainees are required to attend all four days of the Leader Training.

Volunteer Peer Leaders may be health service providers or lay people, and usually have first-hand experience of living with chronic conditions themselves. Leaders often register for the training in pairs, since all self-management workshops are co-facilitated by two leaders working together. We ask health care providers that are sending a staff member for training to also send a person who is living with the chronic condition.

Each Volunteer Peer Leader receives a FREE Leader’s Manual and a copy of the Healthy Change reference book. We can accommodate only 10-25 trainees in each training session, so space is limited. In most cases, accommodations, meals, and mileage for trainees is reimbursed.

PEP Talk

Learning to lead the “PEP Talk: Diabetes, Healthy Feet, and You” workshop is not hard! You can be part of an exciting community initiative to prevent and better manage chronic diseases within our health system.

Interested community members can volunteer to be trained to deliver the “PEP Talk: Diabetes, Healthy Feet, and You” workshop. Both the workshop and the training course have been developed & evaluated as a joint collaboration between the Wounds Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada. . Volunteer Peer Leader Training is a free 1-day process. Trainees are required to attend the full Leader Training.

Volunteer Peer Leaders have first-hand experience of living with diabetes themselves. A key piece is to have also experienced living with a diabetic ulcer, neuropathy, or related amputation. It is a powerful time to share a personal story and lessons learned with the participants. Leaders often register for the training in pairs, since all self-management workshops are co-facilitated by two leaders working together. 

Each Volunteer Peer Leader receives a FREE Leader’s Manual and a copy of the PEP Talk workbook. We can accommodate only 10-25 trainees in each training session, so space is limited. In most cases, the costs for accommodations, meals, and mileage for trainees is reimbursed.