Guidelines for diabetes care have distinguished between diabetes self management education that is critical in teaching people what they need to do to manage their diabetes and diabetes self management support that helps them sustain that management.Peer support can make strong contributions to self managementsupport and quality of life.Amidst the variety of peer support programs around the world, four key functions appear critical: 1) assistance in daily management-taking the plan developed in the doctors or educators office and figuring out how to apply it in daily life; 2) social and emotional support-both to stay motivated in adhering to management ans and to deal with the stressors that can complicate management of any chronic disease; 3) linkage to clinical care and to community resources (e.g., places to exercise) that can support management plans; and 4) ongoing support because diabetes is "for the rest of your life.".