Salve senior starts peer education program

By: Amy Saramago
Posted In: News

Being so far from home in a new environment is one of the scariest things in life. You feel uncomfortable, like you don’t belong. You have no family or friends to turn to for advice and you feel alone. You know some people on campus but you’re not sure if you can quite trust them to be there for you yet. On top of your feeling of loneliness, something happens-either a fight with a roommate, a loved one dies, you’re too stressed out about schoolwork, or you get sexually assaulted. Who do you turn to for guidance now?

Now senior Kerry Duarte has started a plan that may alleviate such issues.

Duarte, a double major in psychology and sociology, hopes to someday be a licensed mental health counselor. She is currently setting up a peer educators program at Salve (which will officially start next year), as an alternative for students who may be seeking advice but don’t want to go to their RA, mentors, or the counseling center for help.

“Peer education is different because it is made up of volunteer students who wish to make a positive effort to assist their peers in making good decisions,” said Duarte. “I do not feel that they will be better than professional staff or RA’s or anyone else. I am just suggesting another alternative. The more options students have the better.”

Duarte explains that peer education is about a group of students who come together as volunteers expressing their willingness to be good listeners to someone who may feel they have no one else they can relate to or feel comfortable talking to. The program is about awareness, prevention, and intervention. They will help educate peers on issues such as depression, eating disorders, and living a healthy lifestyle, often assisting the club VIRGO with these programs. Athletes will also have the opportunity to be peer educators to their team members in order to provide a sense of guidance and leadership.

Duarte and her volunteers are so passionate and dedicated to this project because they have all experienced hardships at Salve and have all felt like they had nowhere to turn. Duarte began thinking about how to provide a program for current and future Salve students who are experiencing these same problems. This peer education program now provides an answer.

“I wanted to start this program because my freshman year was both the best and worst year I had here. I experienced some traumatic experiences and I felt I had no one to talk to,” said Duarte. “I also have heard many stories from students who have gone through a lot and have done so alone.”

It is Duarte’s hope that with this program, students will be open to communicate their feelings. “During my freshmen year I had many family issues and I was also raped at the end of my spring semester at Salve. Just recently, I decided I could not go through this alone and have gone to counseling services,” said Duarte. “I have coped with all the things that have happened to me through an eating disorder that I fear would have taken my life had I not gone into counseling. No one can help themselves if they take on the task alone. That’s why I wanted to form this program.”

Of course, Duarte cannot do all the work by herself. She is going to need a large number of volunteers to be peer educators for other students. Recruiting students for the program will begin in March. All applicants will be interviewed before program training in April. The training is done in accordance with BACCHUS, a health education network and international association of college and university peer education groups in the U.S. These volunteer students will be trained and certified to be a peer educator and the program should start at the beginning of next Fall.

“Interested candidates should be good listeners, compassionate, and outgoing,” said Duarte “We are looking for very positive students that other students will be comfortable with. Basically, anyone who wants to make a difference and is truly motivated to help us make a positive change should apply.”

Salve has outlined a three year plan for the program to expand. “I hope students realize how important this is and how it can make a positive difference on our campus,” said Duarte. “All we need is to work together and anything can be improved and accomplished.”

Duarte has already put in a tremendous amount of work to plan, organize, fund, and prepare to run this program. She looks to the end result and has confidence that this peer education program could be an alternative for students to live happier, healthier lives.

“The program is about students showing compassion, empathy, and concern. We want students to feel like Salve is their home,” said Duarte. “If students are going through a tough time they should never have to feel alone.”

Interested in the Peer Education Program? Contact Kerry Duarte at: kerry.duarte@salve.edu or Advisor, Paul Cardoza, paul.cardoza@salve.edu.