Jimmy McGill

Jimmy McGill is the Director of Peer and Recovery Services for the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services. His lived experience has allowed him to lead the development of Recovery services throughout Arkansas.

Overcoming a lifetime of incarceration and twenty-three years of addiction, author and speaker Jimmy McGill has found his purpose. His childhood was marked by trauma, but what should have destroyed him is now being used to transform reentry and recovery awareness across the country.

His dedicated efforts have allowed Arkansas to place Peer Recovery Specialists inside the Department of Human Services, the Division of Youth Services, the Department of Health, emergency rooms, drug courts, jails, reentry centers, prisons, law enforcement partnerships, Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) and community service centers.

He spearheaded the development of the Arkansas Model of Peer Recovery which has now gained national attention.

Jimmy is a founding member of the SAMHSA Region 6 Peer Support Advisory Committee, an executive board member of the National Peer Recovery Alliance, and the Chairman for the National Association of Reentry Professionals.

2023 Presentation:

This workshop will discuss what a peer worker is and isn’t, what peers do and don’t do in the role of peer support as we dive into the history and innovative practices used in Arkansas to develop, grow, and sustain the peer recovery workforce which is known as The Arkansas Model.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the history of Arkansas peer recovery 
• Describe the role of a peer specialist 
• Describe Arkansas innovative practices