Identifying that there was a need - that was the easy first step. Fashioning a solution within the labyrinthine rules of public institutions and union workers - that was the tough second. Getting everyone on board intelligently and compassionately is the third.

All this took almost two years of planning and novel cooperation among House of Correction administration and three District Council 48 locals. The result is a peer advisory and training program for the workplace fashioned in a manner that is likely to serve as a model for other locals and workforces within the broad AFSCME International family. In fact, union executives are already looking at it.

The unique aspects is not the concept of support but the detailed program engendered, and the extensive management-worker cooperation that created it. All sides agree that there has been an unusual bottom to top involvement in shaping the program and keeping the focus on helping the individual in the workplace facing a crisis or a difficult personal situation.

Two of the peer participants.

The first public fruits of all this planning were unveiled in late winter when 28 participants in the Peer Support Group met for a weeklong training workshop. These initial 28 members, encompassing lieutenants, sergeants, correction officers, service workers and liaison personnel, will be the first resource group for their fellow workers. Then the members will radiate outward as trainers and guides gathering even more employees into the Peer Advisory Support program, with its slogan of "Helping Others Cope."

The aim is to promote the personal and professional well-being of every individual working at the House of Correction by providing a confidential and neutral avenue for employees facing all manner of conflict, distress or critical incidents.

In both the private and public sectors, such programs exist, of course. They can bear fancy administrative names and be full of such phrases as "intervention" and "human resource management." But as with so many things in labor relations, the devil is in the details and the intention has to be transparent and convincing to the workers.

In a lot of places such programs have not only been promulgated by management but often seem an extension of the administration process.

Many workers worry that their bringing up a personal problem might actually injure future employment situations or even lead to administrative discipline. Nor are they clear on how to help fellow workers who may be showing symptoms of stress or changed behavior. Nor are managers always knowledgeable about how to respond to such issues. Everyone in the workplace worries if such personal issues, and how they're handled, can impact a career.

The need for peer support is real, but built in must be a lot of reassurance, and a lot of protection, for the worker. As the House of Correction discovered in thrashing out the support-group concept on all levels, a truly convincing program requires many things. One is extensive training of the advisory groups that run the program. Another is a clear, confidential and voluntary procedure for workers who could use the help.

No wonder unions are a natural and essential partner for such programs. Vital from the get-go has been the involvement, and scrutiny, of District Council 48 staff representative Gerty Purifoy, who has worked closely with House of Correction Superintendent Richard Cox to weigh the procedures and parameters.

Consider also the special circumstances of the House of Correction, where AFSCME represents three groups of workers -- Local 567, Milwaukee County House of Correction Employees; Local 1650, Clerical and Administrative Employees, and Local 1656, Milwaukee County Supervisory and Technical Employees (House of Correction).

These locals represent service and clerical employees and correction officers through the rank of sergeant. It is a workplace flowing with inmates, visitors, special needs and skills in security, transportation and hospitalization - a breeding ground for stress. As one correction officer put it, "Some people might be traumatized for life is they saw once some of the things we see every single day."

The facility itself is geographically isolated from much of the community. That means scheduling issues can be quite different from other workplaces. A child stranded at school? For many workers, there's no problem in dashing out early and leaving the paperwork to catch up on later. For many workers, there is an expectation that it is relatively easy to cope with domestic and personal crises by just involving a few sympathetic ears.

At the House of Correction, as put succinctly by Lt. Wynn Weaver, director of the peer support program, "We require a live body for every position."

Staff rep Gerty Purifoy monitors the training sessions.

That can lead to many rubbing points in providing backup and support, as Weaver and others discussed at the training session. Some supervisors may not respond to a domestic problem the worker regards as critical because it puts security at risk or forces shifts and overtime on other workers.

Supervisors who respond to one employee's needs may have to negotiate with a number of others to actually solve the situation. Workers who don't wish to create bad feelings with their fellow workers or supervisors, and thus keep the crisis to themselves, may actually be building up resentment to workplace inflexibility. Forced overtime can become a union issue. But so can unyielding management.

This creates dangers. In moments of emotional or family stress, in situations where a worker may need intervention, no one is sure who to turn to, or even how to respond.

Hence peer support. One of the fascinating things about the week of training was how often, in sessions and in conversations, a lot of the issues that came up were really about day-to-day respect and listening.

Sessions may have been divided into such heavyweight categories as crisis and trauma resolution, or coping with alcohol or drug abuse, but a lot of the discussion fell into practical solutions for common problems - single parents who need time, serious family illness, coping with violence in the street, in the workplace or at home, major life changes, handling injury, solving transportation issues.

Ideas were offered for development, from workers on call to handle emotional distress or a sub pool to enable a worker to leave for a family crisis. And always - except in cases of illegal activities, of course --- an emphasis on confidentiality, personal support and totally voluntary participation.

The program, everyone agrees, can supplement but not replace existing rules, but it can help both workers and management face up to problems that need resolution.

An ability to keep confidences is a high priority for team members of the peer advisory group, which is composed of support and security staff from all shifts. Training includes not only how to recognize symptoms of employee distress but also tactics to improve a team member's communications skills and abilities for empathetic listening. Sometimes, as several members of the training group mentioned, all an employee needs is someone they trust to talk things out with.

The program is being made very visible. Trained members will be wearing a "Helping Others Cope" pin on their uniforms. The House of Correction is creating an office for the peer support group. Referral forms and locked drop boxes will be placed around the facility in locations accessible to all the staff. Only the liaison for the group will refer the form to the appropriate specialty team. Employees can also self-refer by phoning the Peer Support Office.

At every level, the peer support program builds in confidentiality and the voluntary nature of employees taking advantage of the help.

Weaver constantly emphasized for the trained participants some very basic rules of the role. "This is not, never, a tool of administration," Weaver said. "The goal is to help people, not harm them. The person, their well-being, is the absolute focus of our efforts."

Initial officers for the peer advisory group will be elected by the peer advisors, who are also divided into specialty teams. Each team will elect its own coordinator. The team liaison is Karen Barachy