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Peer Support in Public Libraries: Understanding Relational Care in Action

Examining how community-based peer support offers safety, connection, and dignity beyond clinical settings

Many urban centers are in crisis due to compounding mental health, substance use, and homelessness challenges. New innovations of social support are emerging in response to these crises in the city of Hamilton, such as the presence of peer support workers in The Hamilton Public Library’s Central Branch.

Peer support workers are people with lived and living mental health experiences who provide emotional and social support to others navigating similar challenges. However, little is known about how peer support operates outside of clinical environments and healthcare facilities.

Dr. Loa Gordon and Dr. James Gillett have partnered with the Canadian Mental Health Association Hamilton Branch to better understand how peer support rooted in lived experience is an essential resource across community settings. This ethnographic study involves fieldwork at the Hamilton Public Library, where peer support workers connect with the many members who come to the library not just for books and information but also for shelter, warmth, and social connection. This project seeks to generate new knowledge on the critical utility of relational care in supporting people living precarious lives.