Hello Everyone. I take it that you mean facilitators of Peer support groups. Some do get paid, some do it on a volunteer basis. I've been to both types of groups and my own findings were that the volunteer run groups were better for me, than the ones were the facilitator gets paid. All of the below are generalities and there always exceptions and they are only my own opinions.
One of the reasons why I prefer an all volunteer ran group is because the facilitator can make friends with who ever they wish. In groups where there is a paid facilitator, that person usually works for an organization that has a non frat rule(not always).
I also find the volunteer ran groups are more likely to be ran more loosely and can have a wider range of topics on any given night. Whereas the groups with a paid facilitator usually follow stricter guidelines.
I have attended a lot of groups over the years and I find the ones with the least funding often have the facilitators who have had a really serious mental illness and recovered to the extent that they can now facilitate a group and are great facilitators. A lot of the paid facilitators, that duty is often included as part of their full time profession and some have never missed a days work due to a mental illness or at least not in years.
In regards to money being available, some groups around Ontario are part of big organizations with million $ budgets, some have budgets in the 2-3000 $ range and some have a zero budget, usually because the people who run the group don't want to get involved with fund raising.
There are gov't grants, foundations and charities that will fund at least part of a peer support group's expenses, but it's usually a lot of work.
Don't get me wrong, I too get frustrated with the amount of money that the gov't wastes on non productive measures such as: pay a doctor for years and the patient never gets well(not the patients fault), revolving door policies at some hospitals, where people with a mental illness often receive little treatment and are pushed out the door too soon and some very large charities that do rec a lot of money and do very little(in my opinion) for the average person with a mental illness.
In regards to training, there is a fair amount of informal training that can be accessed free. Little of it is on demand, but courses like A.S.I.T. (Applied Suicide Intervention Training), W.R.A.P.(Wellness Recovery Action Plan) and others can be accessed if one keeps a look out and signs up for mailing lists.
Crest BD often has a mthly webinar for people with bipolar,
http://www.crestbd.ca/,
The Krasman centre offers a variety of courses around central Ontario ,
http://krasmancentre.com/ ,
The MDAO( who run this forum) offer support to people who run a peer support group or want to start one. That support comes in free training and free brochures. The MDAO also has a speaker series that is quite good and has various experts talk about mental illness. They go to towns around the province as well as in Toronto.. They also offer an on line aid to our own wellness recovery plans.
https://mooddisorders.ca/blog/mdao/introducing-mental-health-map-my-action-plan Their Laughing Like Crazy program is an excellent program too.
The MMHC(Mental Heallth Commission of Cda) offer webinars on a variety of mental health subjects.
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/ MoodGym is an free on line course to learn cognitive behavioural skills.
https://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome .
I find that the more that I access ailing lists and/or look at the websites of places like the MDAO, Crest BD, MMHC, MDSC and the Krasman centre, the more I find opportunities about how to live with my illness and how to get better. Take Care. paul m