The P.E.E.R. Center provides a safe place where individuals receive respect, encouragement, and hope that supports and strengthens their recovery from mental illness, addiction, and/or trauma. Their mission highlights the importance of long-term recovery, creating inclusive spaces for hope, healing, and transformation.
We took a moment to chat with The P.E.E.R Center to share more about their work, recent achievements, and challenges. Here’s what they had to share about their mission, impact, and role within the community::
1. Every organization has its unique identity. What sets your organization or program apart from others working in a similar space? As we are typically categorized as occupying the behavioral health space (technically true), we frequently must distinguish ourselves from traditional mental health and addiction treatment. Our mission and focus is recovery. Recovery differs from treatment in that it is ongoing and lifelong. In contrast, treatment is a moment in time. The recovery process may indeed include multiple moments in time over one’s lifetime, but to quote a colleague who summed it up perfectly – “people GO to treatment, but people LIVE in recovery.” As we live into our mission of being a safe, inclusive space for hope, healing, and recovery, our uniqueness is built and grounded with our team, who are all living in long-term recovery. We (the team) are people living, loving, and thriving with conditions related to mental health, addictions, and trauma – serving those with the same personal lived experiences.
2. Reflecting on recent achievements, what has been your biggest success as an organization in the past year? The P.E.E.R. Center was recently awarded a grant from the OneOhio Foundation for $220,000 to support our immediate expansion efforts and needs. This is by far the largest one-time grant award received to date that will help us relocate to a larger space and add service components badly needed by the communities we serve. This comes on the heels of finally publishing our first annual report. That was a long-term project which sounds easy on the face of it but was not. Our 2023 annual report can be found here: https://www.thepeercenter.org/annual-reports.
3. Turning to challenges, what is the most pressing issue your community or clients are currently facing in the coming year? Our community consists of people with lived experiences of mental health, addictions, and trauma, which intersect with all the social determinants of health. Some members of our community are chronically unemployed or underemployed. Many are housing and food insecure. Adequate transportation is an ongoing need. Our communities often live in impoverished neighborhoods. Access to technology is poor. There is a great need for safe social connections. While we recognize that we cannot be all things to all people, we aim to do our part to be a safe, inclusive space for hope, health, and recovery.
4. Community involvement is key. How can people who are inspired by your work get involved with your organization? The flexibility of unrestricted funds received through gifts and donations allows us to focus our efforts on our greatest needs. One way that the community can be involved is to sponsor a meal through our PEERcafé project, which aims to provide one warm meal per day for our housing and food-insecure Associates. We would also be grateful for the ongoing support of our bottomless pot of coffee. Equally as important is the gift of self. Community members can drop in anytime to play cards and games with our Associates, providing that safe social connection. Other ideas can be found on our website: https://www.thepeercenter.org/get-involved.
5. Collaboration is often essential in creating impact. Who are some of your favorite partners or collaborators in the community, and how do you work together? Our primary support comes from ADAMH of Franklin County. They have been a champion of peer recovery services in general and of The P.E.E.R. Center in particular throughout our existence as a nonprofit organization. We would not exist without their steadfast, ongoing support. Our partnership with the Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services has afforded us the opportunity to share our lived expertise through their support of our PEER Voices statewide professional development training and podcasting initiatives. The Mid-Ohio Food Collective, Mount Carmel Health Foundation, The SOAR Foundation, and Pathways Federal Credit Union have supported our desire to meet some of the basic needs of our Associates (participants). Their support has been invaluable.
6. Becoming part of this network brings you to a new community and potential collaborations. Why did you decide to join Community Shares of Mid Ohio? The P.E.E.R. Center has deep competence in all aspects of the journey of recovery. We are well equipped to support our community in achieving the knowledge, skills, and abilities that will support them as they begin their journey of recovery, and in supporting them as they thrive with these knowledge and skills. We hope to continue to build partnerships and collaborations with those entities with deep competence in other areas that can impact the social determinants of health. It is our belief that partnerships and collaborations are the key to optimal health and well-being of the communities we mutually serve. We hope to strengthen our relationships with entities focused on workforce skills and development, and those involved with education and training.
7. The heart of Community Shares’ work is to create a more just, caring, and healthy community for all. How does your organization contribute to this vision? The P.E.E.R. Center's mission of providing zero-cost mental health, addiction, and trauma support services aligns with the mission of Community Shares in that we are focused on providing necessary services to the Franklin County community that will improve the health and wellness of its citizens. These citizens will ultimately impact the growth and well-being of our local economy. It is our mission to be a safe, inclusive space for hope, healing, and recovery. We envision a world where recovery journeys are honored, where lives are transformed, and hope is sustained.
8. Let’s end with something surprising. What’s an interesting fact or statistic about your organization that most people might not know? For some reason, people are always confused by our name. Maybe because “peer” has become a generic term for organizations like ours. Also, because we don’t always describe ourselves using our acronym, we distinguish ourselves as THE P.E.E.R. Center, like those other buckeyes from that one university that makes sure they are distinguished as THE ones. A fun statistic that we are super proud of is that our Centers had nearly 30,000 visits in 2023. We served over 23,000 cups of coffee. We also love our tea drinkers.
The P.E.E.R. Center brings a vital and unique voice to the Community Shares of Mid Ohio network, emphasizing the importance of recovery, connection, and transformation. Visit their website to learn more or get involved at thepeercenter.org.
