Suport entre Iguals, Peer Support for Recovery in Mental Health

Ben Schmidt on 29 October 2025

A pioneering peer-support initiative in Catalonia offering lived-experience assistance for people with severe mental health conditions

The “Suport entre Iguals” project is designed to empower individuals with severe mental health conditions by offering support from peers who have undergone similar experiences. Built on the concept of the “Pacient Expert by Experience” model, the initiative seeks to transform how mental-health recovery is approached, shifting from purely professional-led support to lived-experience-driven connection. Through structured training and practice, the project trains participants who have experienced mental health challenges to act as supporters and guides to others in their recovery journeys.

The process begins with a cohort of around ten participants undergoing 160 hours of training, including theoretical content and practical placements within community rehabilitation services of the Institute of Healthcare (known as IAS). After this preparation phase, the peer-experts begin delivering a series of twelve‐session workshops to approximately one hundred users of the mental-health network in the Girona region. The topics covered include recovery skills, crisis prevention and management, creation of personal support networks, empowerment and self-determination.

The project situates itself within a wider regional model of community-based mental-health care and intends to reduce reliance on long-stay institutional settings. It also incorporates a digital monitoring component via messaging support and AI-enabled interaction to follow up on user needs and crisis risks. By acknowledging the value of lived experience and mutual support, the project emphasizes dignity, human rights, and community inclusion for people with psychosocial disabilities.

Characteristics of innovation

Bank of innovations, Mental health, New model of intervention, Personalization of the service, Pilot project, User empowerment

Location

Catalonia

Partners/ Founders

Institut d’Assistència Sanitària (IAS), Hub d’Innovació Social i Sanitària (HISS) – Catalonia, Fundació Support‑Girona, Associació Família i Salut Mental de les Comarques Gironines

Genesis

The initiative was developed by Fundació Drissa in partnership with the Institute of Healthcare (IAS) in response to the need for more community-based, recovery-oriented mental-health models in Catalonia. Using the “Pacient Expert per l’Experiència (PEP)” methodology, the project was built to train and deploy peer experts who have themselves lived through mental health challenges, and to embed mutual-support practices into local services.

Implementation level

The pilot phase involves the training of ten peer-experts, the delivery of workshops to around one hundred users, and the integration of digital follow-up interactions (targeting over 200 interactions per week). Impact measurement is underway using standardized tools: the EQ-5D-5L for quality of life, NEL for empowerment, and MARS12 for recovery progression. The project aims for a 10 % improvement in quality of life and empowerment, and at least 75 % of participants advancing at least one stage in their recovery process.

More information

Fundacio Drissa Logo

Propose your innovation

See our selection of innovations

Banc d’innovacions

Campanya de sensibilització orientada a la joventut per abordar la soledat no desitjada a Espanya

Aquí la Sole, campaign against youth loneliness

A youth-oriented awareness campaign tackling unwanted loneliness in Spain

Una eina digital interactiva per ajudar els infants a entendre i recórrer el procés Barnahus

Journeys App, guiding children safely through the Barnahus process

An interactive digital tool to help children understand and navigate the Barnahus process

Ithaca Laundry, servei de bugaderia mòbil i reinserció social per a persones en situació de sensellarisme

Ithaca Laundry, Mobile laundry services and social reintegration for people experiencing homelessness

Europe’s first mobile laundry unit for people experiencing homelessness

Una plataforma en línia per avaluar i prevenir la vulnerabilitat residencial i l’exclusió habitacional

VERA app, A Digital Tool for Diagnosing Housing Vulnerability in Spain

An online diagnostic platform to assess and prevent housing vulnerability and residential exclusion

Una plataforma de telèfon minimalista dissenyada per oferir connectivitat essencial i bloquejar aplicacions addictives i distraccions digitals

Balance Phone, a minimalist phone created for digital well-being

A minimalist phone platform designed to offer essential connectivity while blocking addictive apps and digital distractions

Una plataforma digital que permet als professionals de primera línia informar i abordar els reptes socials a les seves comunitats

Lokaal Signaal, Enhancing Local Social Policy through Fieldworker Insights

A digital platform enabling first-line professionals to report and address social challenges in their communities

Be My Eyes, A Global Platform for Visual Assistance and Inclusion

Ben Schmidt on 22 October 2025

A global accessibility platform that empowers blind and low-vision people through real-time visual assistance

Be My Eyes is an accessibility platform that connects blind and low-vision individuals with sighted volunteers and professional partners through live video calls. Using a free mobile app, users can request instant visual assistance for everyday tasks such as reading labels, navigating spaces, or identifying objects. A volunteer on the other end of the call sees through the user’s phone camera and provides real-time guidance, helping bridge the gap between visual information and fostering independent living.

Since its launch in 2015, Be My Eyes has built a vast, supportive community that harnesses technology to create meaningful human connections. The platform is free, and anonymous and its design is simple, ensuring users can receive help quickly and privately whenever needed.

Beyond volunteer assistance, Be My Eyes also partners with companies and organizations to enhance accessibility in workplaces and customer support. Through its Be My Eyes for Business and Be My Eyes for Work programs, the service allows employees and customers who are blind or have low vision to interact, via accessible video tools, directly with trained support agents . In 2023, the organization expanded its reach with Be My AI, an artificial intelligence assistant developed in collaboration with OpenAI, which provides instant, context-aware visual descriptions when human volunteers are unavailable.

Be My Eyes represents a transformative approach to inclusion, merging empathy, innovation, and global collaboration to make the world more accessible for all.