www.sagepublications.com DOI:10.1177/1473325004048024 Networks of Caring A Qualitative Study of Social Support in Consumer-run Mental Health Agencies

This article examines consumer-run agency participation by adults with psychiatric disabilities. Using qualitative data from 10 intensive interviews, the purpose was to explore personal meanings attached to agency membership, and understand the lived experiences of participants. A grounded hermeneutic approach was utilized to analyse results. Findings reveal that individuals balance agency utiliz-ation and external peer network development. Organiz-ational factors previously found related to social network enhancement (e.g. empowerment and emphasis on sup-portive services) were confirmed here. The emergent narra-tives captured in this study suggest that these agencies function as low-demand, accepting, safe, and sheltering environments while offering opportunities for human con-nection, shared agency ownership and community. Finally, access to otherwise unavailable peer-focused ‘networks of caring ’ was of utmost importance to participants. Impli-cations for the organization and delivery of services are addressed. Social workers and other mental health pro-fessionals seeking to maximize community integration and develop natural supports for clients should explore consumer-run agencies. KEY WORDS: consumer providers consumer-run services mental health qualitativ