Be empathetic towards the challenges of others
Serve to destigmatize resource utilization
Create a comforting and safe environment
Recognize signs of basic needs insecurity
Display traits of being a leader in your community
Be responsible and handle tasks accordingly
Seek out or collaborate with other organizations
Relate your personal lived experiences and/or educational knowledge to your Basic Needs work
As a Peer Educator, you must be empathetic towards the challenges that your fellow students face. You must actively serve to destigmatize the process of approaching or seeking out resources. As mentioned, there surrounds a stigma in being food insecure, financially insecure, and housing insecure. Often students feel embarrassed to utilize the resources provided to them from the university. Peer Educators must create a safe, nonjudgmental environment towards those who deal with this taboo; Educators must be approachable to discuss the emotional stress that others face.
These stigmas can prevent students from approaching or seeking out help, and thus it is the responsibility of the Peer Educator to seek out those in need. In these aspects, outreach and initiative must be practiced at all times. Peer Educators must be active within their community, constantly trying to find or look for those who may be facing difficulties across many identities.
As a Peer Educator, you can find yourself even working with other organizations and leaders in order to create events for a certain community. It is within these events that Peer Educators will find themselves at their most active and constantly strive to provide a healthy, safe environment for those in need. Communication with these communities is key to covering the most amount of people as possible.
This curriculum will provide tips and strategies in order to relate and become an active member of the community, whilst also providing supplement content in order to understand approaches to a particular scenario.