Peer/Mental Support
Peer support and mental health navigation from people who have been where you are. Trauma-informed, lived-experience-based, BIPOC-led.
Who it serves
Community members navigating the mental health impact of incarceration — trauma, isolation, the transitions back to family and society — who benefit from being walked alongside by a peer who has lived it.
How it works
Peer support is built on the principle that someone who has been through reentry holds knowledge that a clinical professional, however well-trained, cannot. Rooted pairs community members with peer mentors trained in trauma-informed practice, and the relationship is intentionally consistent — community members aren't passed from one new face to another.
The program does two things at once. First, peer relationship: a BIPOC-led, lived-experience-grounded space to be heard. Second, navigation: when someone needs clinical mental health care, our peers help them find culturally appropriate providers, navigate insurance or sliding-scale options, and stay alongside through intake.
The program is intentionally distinct from clinical therapy. Where clinical care is needed, Rooted refers; where peer support is what's needed, we provide directly.
Eligibility
Open to community members in our service area at any point in their reentry journey.
Outcome
Mental health support that is actually accessible to BIPOC reentry-impacted community members — not gated behind insurance, intake processes, or clinicians who don't share lived context.