Lived Experience & Recovery Network

Lived Experience & Recovery Network LERN is a networking body linking, supporting, educating and advocating for all consumer/survivor and family organizations in Northeastern Ontario.

LERN acts as a knowledge exchange network, providing information and opportunities for members to learn and share for personal and professional development. Our learning and sharing events allow our members to gain valuable skills and knowledge to provide peer support using best and promising practices with the purpose of improving the quality of life for people with lived experience of mental health and addiction and their families in northeastern Ontario.

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03/04/2026

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02/26/2026

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Your well-being matters! 🩵
02/18/2026

Your well-being matters! 🩵

➡ 😀LERN invites individuals to submit proposals for this year’s 2026 LERN Conference. This conference is taking place o...
02/17/2026

➡ 😀LERN invites individuals to submit proposals for this year’s 2026 LERN Conference. This conference is taking place on July 9 & 10, in North Bay, Ontario. This year’s theme is Hope & Healing: The Peer Support Journey!
Proposals can be submitted by accessing the link below & completing the Google form or by completing the Word document (please email us for the doc).
Google Form Link to Submit Proposal:(https://forms.gle/Z1zbJBqfy7zMk3QL7)

Presentation Topics:
We welcome proposals that reflect lived/living experience, uphold peer support values, and offer practical insights that strengthen hope and healing across the peer support journey. Presentations should be respectful and grounded in the mental health and substance use/addictions peer support community, in relation to our 2026 conference theme.

Presentations may include, but are not limited to:
• Cultivating Hope in Peer Support
• Healing Through Connection and Belonging
• Navigating the Peer Support Journey in Diverse Work Settings
• Peer Support, Burnout, and Renewal
• Self-Healing and Self-Care as Peer Practice
• Hope, Healing, and Lived Experience Leadership
• Cultural, Community, and Identity-Based Healing

Please note that we also encourage submissions for future presentations and/or webinars.
Our conference is open to LERN member organizations; however, proposal/presentation submissions are open to all (please read submission requirements below):
Proposal Submission Requirements: Please Include:
• Presenter(s), name of organization/service (if applicable) & contact details
• Presentation topic & title
• Brief biography of presenter(s) max of 50 -70 words
• Presentation information (purpose/goal, how it relates to our theme, target audience (or limitation), what attendees will learn or gain from this, any forms of triggers to inform attendees respectfully)
• Presentation details (including length, format, whether attendees can interact or ask questions, requirements, etc.)
• Presenter’s availability on July 9 (morning/afternoon or both) and July 10 (morning only)
• Requirements for presentation: Do you require any audio and/or visual requirements? (i.e., projector, speakers, etc.)

Presentation Requirements:
• Presenters must be available to join us in person in North Bay on July 9 or July 10.
• Provide all the proposal requirements listed above
• Be comfortable presenting to a live audience with primarily Peer Support Workers
• Be able to present for at least a minimum of forty-five minutes to one hour
• Be respectful, kind, and friendly to all diverse attendees
• If you have another format (music, art, poems, posters, etc.) to submit, please do so, as all submissions will be greatly appreciated and considered

LERN Will:
• Provide the presenter with conference details and registration
• Be of support to the presenter as required and/or needed
• Advocate for a respectful, diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for everyone, everywhere. This means we require our presentations and presenters to have the same or a similar approach.

For further information or inquiries, please contact LERN's:
• Education & Support Coordinator: Erin Russell: [email protected] and/or 249-591-1467
• Regional Director: Kari Sterling: [email protected] and/or 705-840-1818

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02/10/2026

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🤩 🤩 Tues. Feb. 3 ➡ We hope for you to join us for Lived Experience & Recovery Network (LERN), and PeerWorks - Formerly...
02/02/2026

🤩 🤩 Tues. Feb. 3 ➡ We hope for you to join us for Lived Experience & Recovery Network (LERN), and PeerWorks - Formerly OPDI as we host our 6th annual Peer Support Strong Virtual Conference!
This conference is free, and all are welcome to attend! Registration is required!

From Lived Experience to Lasting Impact: celebrates how peer support transforms individuals, organizations, and communities. It highlights the power of lived experience and how, when rooted in peer values, it leads to meaningful, measurable, and lasting change. As the field grows, peer supporters are leading the way in demonstrating that peer support works, through shared stories and collective learning, it reflects our values of mutuality, respect, and hope.❣️

📃Conference Agenda (EST)
• 9:00 am - 9:15 am: Conference virtual room opens
• 9:15 am- 9:30 am: Conference begins: Opening Remarks
• 9:30 am – 10:15 am: Hayley Peek:
Empowering Peer Support in the Age of AI: Human Connection, Ethics, and Lived Experience
• 10:30 am – 11:15 am: Misty Thaler & Mary Ellen Ruddell
Peer Support and Public Libraries: Organizing Peer Services Outside of Mainstream Systems
• 11:30 am – 12:15 pm: Jo Brown, Glenn Petersen, & Edward Strutzenberger:
Lived Experience in Action: Three Voices Driving Recovery, Learning, and Lasting Impact
• 1:00 pm – 1:45 pm: Sarah Ryan & Bruno Baurin
When Peer Supporters Design the Program: Lessons from Community-Led Co-Design
• 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm: Joseph Gladding & Elizabeth Callaghan:
Working with Addictions and Stepping Into the Grey Areas of Best Practice: Challenging our status quo to the benefit of person-centred support
• 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm: Kim Sunderland:
When They Don’t Get It: Navigating People and Organizations Critical of Peer Support Work
• 3:45 pm – 4:00 pm: Conference Closing

*You may register for any and/or all of these presentations.
📫For registration, further details & bio, please visit: www.peerworks.ca/news-events/events

❗️ 📣Call out for Lived Experience & Recovery (LERN) Network's 2026 Conference Proposals/Presenters! 🤩➡️LERN invites indi...
01/23/2026

❗️ 📣Call out for Lived Experience & Recovery (LERN) Network's 2026 Conference Proposals/Presenters! 🤩

➡️LERN invites individuals to submit proposals for this year’s 2026 LERN Conference. This conference is taking place on July 9 & 10, in North Bay at the Hampton Inn. This year’s theme is Hope & Healing: The Peer Support Journey!
Proposals can be submitted by accessing the link below & completing the Google form or by completing the Word document (please email us for the doc).
Google Form Link to Submit Proposal:(https://forms.gle/Z1zbJBqfy7zMk3QL7)

🗣️Presentation Topics:
We welcome proposals that reflect lived/living experience, uphold peer support values, and offer practical insights that strengthen hope and healing across the peer support journey. Presentations should be respectful and grounded in the mental health and substance use/addictions peer support community, in relation to our 2026 conference theme.

📝Presentations may include, but are not limited to:
• Cultivating Hope in Peer Support
• Healing Through Connection and Belonging
• Navigating the Peer Support Journey in Diverse Work Settings
• Peer Support, Burnout, and Renewal
• Self-Healing and Self-Care as Peer Practice
• Hope, Healing, and Lived Experience Leadership
• Cultural, Community, and Identity-Based Healing
Please note that we also encourage submissions for future presentations and/or webinars.
Our conference is open to LERN member organizations; however, proposal/presentation submissions are open to all (please read submission requirements below):

💻Proposal Submission Requirements: Please Include:
• Presenter(s), name of organization/service (if applicable) & contact details
• Presentation topic & title
• Brief biography of presenter(s) max of 50 -70 words
• Presentation information (purpose/goal, how it relates to our theme, target audience (or limitation), what attendees will learn or gain from this, any forms of triggers to inform attendees respectfully)
• Presentation details (including length, format, whether attendees can interact or ask questions, requirements, etc.)
• Presenter’s availability on July 9 (morning/afternoon or both) and July 10 (morning only)
• Requirements for presentation: Do you require any audio and/or visual requirements? (i.e., projector, speakers, etc.)
Presentation Requirements:
• Presenters must be available to join us in person in North Bay on July 9 or July 10.
• Provide all the proposal requirements listed above
• Be comfortable presenting to a live audience with primarily Peer Support Workers
• Be able to present for at least a minimum of forty-five minutes to one hour
• Be respectful, kind, and friendly to all diverse attendees
• If you have another format (music, art, poems, posters, etc.) to submit, please do so, as all submissions will be greatly appreciated and considered

❣️LERN Will:
• Provide the presenter with conference details and registration
• Be of support to the presenter as required and/or needed
• Advocate for a respectful, diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for everyone, everywhere. This means we require our presentations and presenters to have the same or a similar approach.

📩For further information or inquiries, please contact LERN's:
• Education and Support Coordinator:
Erin Russell: [email protected] and/or 249-591-1467
• Regional Director:
Kari Sterling: [email protected] and/or 705-840-1818

01/23/2026

Do you work directly with children or youth with ADHD in education, healthcare, community programs, or mental health? We’re inviting professionals to take part in a virtual focus group to share their experiences and insights on current ADHD interventions.

🗓️ February 10, 2026 | ⏰ 12:00 PM | 💻 Virtual
⏱️ 60–90 minutes | Voluntary participation

Your voice can help strengthen ADHD service delivery and improve outcomes for children and youth.
📧 To register: [email protected]

01/23/2026

✨ Help Shape Better ADHD Supports
If you’re a parent or caregiver of a child or youth with ADHD, we want to hear from you. Share your experiences in a virtual focus group and help improve how ADHD interventions are designed for families.
📩 Register or learn more: [email protected]

01/23/2026

📣 Participants Needed – ADHD Research Study 📣

Are you a youth or young adult (ages 16–25) with lived experience of diagnosed ADHD? Your voice matters! 💬

We’re inviting you to take part in an online focus group to share what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what needs to change in ADHD programs and supports. Your experiences can help shape better support for other youth and young adults like you.

🗓 Date: February 24, 2026
⏰ Time: 4:00 PM
💻 Format: Online (60–90 minutes)
✅ Voluntary participation

Interested?
📧 Email [email protected] to register or learn more.

✨Join us in two weeks ➡ Feb. 3rd, for Lived Experience & Recovery Network (LERN), and PeerWorks - Formerly OPDI as we h...
01/21/2026

✨Join us in two weeks ➡ Feb. 3rd, for Lived Experience & Recovery Network (LERN), and PeerWorks - Formerly OPDI as we host our 6th annual Peer Support Strong Virtual Conference!
This conference is free, and all are welcome to attend! Registration is required.

From Lived Experience to Lasting Impact: celebrates how peer support transforms individuals, organizations, and communities. It highlights the power of lived experience and how, when rooted in peer values, it leads to meaningful, measurable, and lasting change. As the field grows, peer supporters are leading the way in demonstrating that peer support works, through shared stories and collective learning, it reflects our values of mutuality, respect, and hope.❣️

📃Conference Agenda (EST)
• 9:00 am - 9:15 am: Conference virtual room opens
• 9:15 am- 9:30 am: Conference begins: Opening Remarks
• 9:30 am – 10:15 am: Hayley Peek:
Empowering Peer Support in the Age of AI: Human Connection, Ethics, and Lived Experience
• 10:30 am – 11:15 am: Misty Thaler & Mary Ellen Ruddell
Peer Support and Public Libraries: Organizing Peer Services Outside of Mainstream Systems
• 11:30 am – 12:15 pm: Jo Brown, Glenn Petersen, & Edward Strutzenberger:
Lived Experience in Action: Three Voices Driving Recovery, Learning, and Lasting Impact
• 1:00 pm – 1:45 pm: Sarah Ryan & Bruno Baurin
When Peer Supporters Design the Program: Lessons from Community-Led Co-Design
• 2:00 pm – 2:45 pm: Joseph Gladding & Elizabeth Callaghan:
Working with Addictions and Stepping Into the Grey Areas of Best Practice: Challenging our status quo to the benefit of person-centred support
• 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm: Kim Sunderland:
When They Don’t Get It: Navigating People and Organizations Critical of Peer Support Work
• 3:45 pm – 4:00 pm: Conference Closing
*You may register for any and/or all of these presentations.

📫For registration, further details & bio, please visit: www.peerworks.ca/news-events/events

Address

9 Stevens Road PO Box 518
Temagami, ON
P0H2H0

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

705-840-1818

Website

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