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Moses Taylor grant supports peer specialist training program
The Wright Center for Community Health completed a unique program to improve mental health treatment across the region with a $300,000 grant from the Moses Taylor Foundation.
The Wright Center offers a wide range of mental and behavioral health services to help people of all ages address emotional challenges. The Moses Taylor Foundation grant supported the establishment of an integrated peer support service line that encompasses mental health and whole-person primary health services. It also provided training for individuals seeking to become certified peer specialists, expanding the number of professionals available to support patients while reducing the financial burden that often acts as an obstacle to obtaining training and certification for the position.
Shannon Osborne
Certified peer specialists are individuals who live with or have lived with a mental health condition, complete an approved course of training in peer support services, and pass an exam administered by the Pennsylvania Certification Board to earn their certification. In total, 20 people completed the two-week class hosted by The Wright Center and are preparing to take the certification exam. An additional 10 individuals – many from community partner organizations that offer peer services – have completed supervisor training.
“This training opportunity is rare in Northeast Pennsylvania, even though the demand for mental health services is high,” said Shannon Osborne, the manager of enterprise trauma-competent wellness initiatives at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “This program is another way The Wright Center, with the support of the Moses Taylor Foundation, is investing in workforce development, especially when it comes to increasing access to mental health treatment in the region.”
These in-demand professionals draw on their lived experience with mental health recovery to offer support and assistance to others in their recovery and community integration or reintegration process.
Lou Strazzeri
Certified peer specialists work closely with licensed professionals and health support workers to offer increased hope, empowerment, and quality of life while reducing hospital readmissions, including fewer recurrent psychiatric hospitalizations. They can enhance the effectiveness of clinical treatment services by developing recovery supports and helping individuals and their families become integral parts of their communities.
The Moses Taylor grant will also help The Wright Center develop its peer support service line and offer opportunities to community partners interested in expanding their mental health service lines, either by employing certified peer specialists or launching a peer specialist program to support their clients.
“Training more certified peer specialists will enhance our behavioral health services, which will be a great addition to our fully integrated, whole-person primary health services,” said Lou Strazzeri, director of behavioral health integration, social and case management services, and supervisor of certified peer support specialists at The Wright Center for Community Health.
Scott Constantini
Scott Constantini, associate vice president of primary care and recovery services integration at The Wright Center for Community Health, added, “This grant will help us and our community partners expand our workforce and increase access to much-needed mental health peer services throughout Northeast Pennsylvania.”
The Wright Center is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026. Established in 1976, The Wright Centers for Community Health, Graduate Medical Education, and Patient & Community Engagement are a cornerstone of health care in the region. This physician-led, community-owned nonprofit drives innovation and workforce development, employing nearly 670 professionals – including 177 physician residents and fellows – and training more than 200 interprofessional health care learners annually.
In fiscal year 2024-25, The Wright Center served about 38,300 unique patients at its growing network of community health centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties, including a mobile medical and dental unit called Driving Better Health. As a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike and safety-net provider, it serves everyone, regardless of insurance status, ZIP code, or ability to pay. No patient is turned away due to an inability to pay. For more information, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
