Q&A with Justin Volpe, Senior Peer Support Coordinator at the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
Justin Volpe is the senior peer support coordinator at the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD). Uniquely qualified for this position, he is deeply committed to helping individuals with mental health conditions and substance use disorders succeed in the community, particularly those who have been involved with the criminal justice system.
Before you came to NASMHPD, you served as a certified recovery peer specialist for Miami-Dade County's Eleventh Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project Jail Diversion Program. How did you become a peer specialist, and what were your responsibilities?
My path to that position really started back in high school, when I turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with the death of my best friend. This escalated mental health problems that run in my family. I graduated, but over the next few years, I struggled, dropping out of college and frequently changing housing and jobs. After an unsuccessful attempt at rehab, I became very paranoid and delusional due to what was eventually diagnosed (many years later) as schizoaffective disorder. The medication I received helped control these symptoms, but when I started feeling better, I stopped taking it.
