Over the past year, our partnership with MASStrong and the GPS model has transformed not only the way we facilitate our peer support groups, but also the way we think about creating community.
One of the most significant aspects of GPS is the ability to implement it in individual populations, tailoring the model to meet the needs of the community. Participants in our Spanish training emphasized that the best adaptations were not changes to GPS itself, but shifts in tone, pacing, and cultural voice.
Some people have a way of making you feel settled the moment they enter the room. Not because they have all the answers, but because they are fully there. Listening. Breathing with you. Holding space without judgment. That is the kind of presence Jigyna Patel brings to every support group she facilitates, trains, and coaches. And it is the same presence that first drew her to GPS.
When people work in recovery, peer support, and community care, they often spend their days holding space for others. But where do they go to pause, reflect, and be supported?
Recently, staff from Choice Recovery Coaching from Greenfield, MA came together for a focus group to share their experiences with GPS training and GPS support groups. What emerged was a powerful picture of connection, safety, and healing, not just for individuals in recovery, but for the people who support recovery every day.
Sometimes a community decides, quietly and courageously, that it wants to love people better. That’s what happened this spring at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Indiana. They reached out to GPS because they wanted to create spaces where people who have been hurt—by religious trauma, by exclusion, by silence—could finally exhale.
There are people whose presence feels like a soft place to land, people who make you breathe a little easier the moment you sit beside them. For so many in our GPS community, Michelle Hagues-Fullwood is that person.
“GPS creates a space where no one feels alone, where your story is honored, your voice matters, and healing happens through connection.” — Karina Bales, GPS Facilitator and Trainer There are moments in life that change everything. Moments when pain becomes purpose, and what once felt like breaking becomes a quiet kind of transformation. Some…
“Being part of GPS has given me the opportunity to both grow in my own practice and to walk alongside others in a truly compassionate and supportive space.” — Laela Bisgrove, Perinatal Behavioral Health Coach and GPS Facilitator Laela Bisgrove’s first experience with GPS —introduced to her through her work with Postpartum Support International— was…
“[La] capacitación llegó en el momento adecuado en el lugar indicado, o sea, todo cayó del cielo. La verdad me ayudó a centrarme un poco. A dejar el miedo a saltar, cabeza fría, cuerpo caliente, entonces poder actuar.” — Andrea H., Organizadora Principal en Heartland Workers Center y participante de la Capacitación de Facilitadores (English…
“Yo no había visto tanta necesidad de pertenecer a un grupo hasta esta [capacitación]. [Me recordo] que yo también quiero pertenecer a un grupo como participante, no solo como facilitadora.” — Perla S., Participante de Capacitación de Facilitadores GPS (English translation below) Cuando Perla se unió a la Capacitación de Facilitadores para la Comunidad Hispana…
