Useful Quotes About Peer Support
Peer support is, and has been a powerful dynamic in human relationships throughout history. It should be no surprise that voices from religion, philosophy, science and politics, have been promoting positive peer support and pinpointing strategies about how to use peer support effectively. They have also warned against the dangers of negative peer support.
Quotes can be of use in building our own understanding of peer support. They can also be useful in persuading others of the value and power of peer support. I’ve offered a few below for your consideration:
QUOTES FROM RELIGIOUS SOURCES
Judeo/Christian Traditions
The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Ecclesiastes 4:9–10: "Two people are better than one, because they get more work done by working together. If one person falls down, the other can help him up. But it is bad for the person who is alone and falls, because no one is there to help him."
Proverbs 13:20: "Walk with the wise and you will become wise. But a companion of fools suffers harm."
Proverbs 27:17: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens the mind of his friend."
The New Testament
1 Thessalonians 5:11: "So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing."
Galatians 6:2: "Share each other's troubles and problems. In this way, you will obey the law of Christ."
Hebrews 10:24–25: "Let us think about how we can help each other to love others and to do good acts. Let us not give up meeting together. Some people are doing that. Instead, let us encourage each other."
1 Corinthians 15:33: "Do not be fooled. “Bad company ruins good character."
Islamic Traditions (Hadith)
"None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself" (Sahih al-Bukhari).
"The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion, and sympathy are just like one body" (Sahih Muslim).
"Help your brother, whether he is an oppressor or is oppressed" (Sahih al-Bukhari).
Buddhist Traditions (Dhammapada and Sutras)
"A friend is the best possession; a true friend is the best of all."
"Without support, a person falls. With support, a person stands tall and walks the path."
"Serve one another in times of need, as compassion connects all beings."
Hindu Traditions (Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads)
"A person is measured by how they uplift others and ease the suffering of their peers."
"He who sees all beings in his own self, and his own self in all beings, does not hate anyone."
"Do not let your neighbor stumble; reach out a hand when they grow weak."
Taoist Traditions (Tao Te Ching)
"The sage does not hoard. The more he helps others, the more he benefits himself."
"Walk beside your fellows in the dark so they may see the light."
Bahá’í Traditions
“For all beings are connected together like a chain, and reciprocal help, assistance, and influence belonging to the properties of things, are the causes of the existence, development, and growth of created beings. It is confirmed through evidences and proofs that every being universally acts upon other beings, either absolutely or through association.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá).
“Human brotherhood and dependence exist because mutual helpfulness and cooperation are the two necessary principles underlying human welfare.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá).
QUOTES FROM PHILOSOPHERS
Pythagoras: "Friends are as companions on a journey, who ought to aid each other to persevere in the road to a happier life."
Aristotle: "A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a friend's existence... makes us more fully conscious of our own existence.”
Epicurus: "It is not so much our friends' help that helps us, as the confidence of their help."
Ralph Waldo Emerson: "What I need is someone who will make me do what I can."
QUOTES FROM SOCIAL SCIENTISTS
Ruth Cooper and colleagues: “Peer Support Workers are uniquely positioned to facilitate recovery through empathic engagement with service users and their support networks.”
Shery Mead “One of the most valuable aspects of peer support is our ability to share our stories with each other. It's amazing to me what happens the first time we realize that we're not the only person who's been through some of these things.”
Armin Arminen, Sociologist “By using the term 'peer support' I wish to draw attention to the social bond between fellow sufferers as a peer relationship where a common life situation connects them as peers... they are the people who have a common 'fate' and gather together to share their experiences in order to find consolation.”
Karen Fortuna and colleagues promote “the importance of relationship-building and mutual care, offering a profound challenge to the depersonalizing tendencies of institutional health systems.”
QUOTES FROM INTERNATIONAL LEADERS/POLITICAL LEADERS
World Health Organization: Officially recommends “the strengthening of peer support and civil society organizations to create mutually supportive relationships and empower people to advocate for a human rights and person-centered approach."
The United Nations emphasizes the value of support systems that "look like peer support, self-advocacy, and the everyday relationships and friendships that come from taking part in ordinary community life."
Barack and Michelle Obama: "Leaders are most effective when they lean on a network of peer support — a 'kitchen table' as I like to call it. They're making connections. They're learning from each other, helping one another."