Welcome to the Peer Assistance and Leadership Webpage!
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peer \'pier\ n one's equal
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assistance \as-sis-tance\ n giving aid; helping
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leadership \lead-er-ship\ n the ability to guide, lead or conduct
The mission of the PAL peer helping program is to utilize the potential of young people to make a difference in their schools and communities.
PAL Peer Assistance and Leadership began in 1980 as a "peer helping" program, combining "peer assistance" and "peer leadership" strategies originally developed in the 1970's. Over the last fifteen years, WAP (Worker's Assistance Programs) has significantly enhanced and expanded these basic prevention strategies, evolving the PAL® peer helping program from an informal, extra-curricular activity in a single school district, into a formally structured, curriculum-based program, adopted by the Texas Education Agency as an accredited elective course. Because of its reputation for effectiveness and efficiency, over 750 school districts throughout Texas have requested services from PAL® Services WAP, Inc., and WAP has documented substantiated PAL® peer helping programs in over 1000 elementary, middle and high schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
