We’re committed to your recovery.

The P.E.E.R. Center is committed to the recovery of all individuals who live with mental illness, addiction, and trauma. Each person who enters our doors is extended a warm welcome. Everyone receives all the hospitality we have to offer and is embraced by all that we value.

Clear, honest, and open communication conveyed with mutual respect.
The right of individuals to a safe, happy, and peaceful life.
The experience, struggles, and leadership of those who are on a journey of recovery.
Encouragement and acceptance of everyone, wherever they are in this journey.
The whole individual: mind, body, and spirit.
Most of all, we value and strive to model and instill HOPE…

Our Core Values.

… that with time, patience, support, and respect, we can work to understand our mental conditions and those things and situations that trigger us;

…that we can learn what helps, what hinders, and what empowers us to take control of our own recovery and growth;

…that we can overcome and move past those things that feed our addictions;

…that we can survive our childhood and adult traumas;

…that mental illness, addiction, and trauma do not define us, nor are they the end of our stories.

History

The P.E.E.R. Center opened in January 2007 as a consumer operated drop in center through Columbus Area, Inc. for individuals living with mental illness and/or alcohol or other drug addiction. All staff at The P.E.E.R. Center has a history of mental illness and/or drug or alcohol addiction. Many are also trauma survivors.

From the beginning, The P.E.E.R. Center was intended to serve as a place where associates could learn about their illness or addiction, talk with others about their struggles and recovery, and spend time with others who have “walked the walk” to improve their lives. The P.E.E.R. Center is also intended to educate and support family members of individuals living with mental illness and/or addiction. The P.E.E.R. Center became independent of Columbus Area, Inc. in January of 2010. Then, in May 2011, The P.E.E.R. Center merged with Partners in Active Living, a drop in center for mental health consumers in Columbus’s Short North.

The sites held celebrations in July 2011 to present a newly enlarged organization and the creation of The P.E.E.R. Center North. The next transition for The PEER Center took place in December 2013 when the North location relocated to the West side of Columbus, hence the beginning of The PEER Center West.

The P.E.E.R. Center Today

While the target audience that we serve is specific, our leadership and staff embrace a broader understanding of recovery. We recognize that The P.E.E.R. Center associates are recovering from a variety of traumas and life circumstances – these include incarceration, homelessness, domestic violence, incest, and sexual molestation, among others. Such individuals may or may not have a mental illness, and may or may not abuse alcohol or other drugs. While associates’ backgrounds may differ widely, we are all living with conditions that carry a stigma.

Welcome to The P.E.E.R. Center to be in the company of others who have had similar experiences and/or are accepting of our differences.

The P.E.E.R. Center - A Safe Place

The P.E.E.R. Center is intended to be a safe place for all who enter our door. For this very reason, it is different from other places where we spend time and some of those differences may be confusing. Some associates, because of their illness or past traumas, are easily triggered by behavior that may be normal in other settings. To maintain associates’ safety, violence of any sort is not tolerated – whether that is threat of physical harm, yelling and cursing at others or shoving/throwing objects.

Casual talk about criminal activity and alcohol or drug use can be triggering for some and should be avoided. Pornography may also trigger past trauma and should not be viewed in a recovery setting. To increase safety for all who come to the Center, it is monitored both by staff and by a camera/recording system in and around the building. We do what we can to support victims of crime and help them report incidents so illegal activities can be prevented or prosecuted.

The P.E.E.R. Center - A Place For Recovery

While recovery may not come up in casual conversation, it is easy to find at The P.E.E.R. Center when you are looking for it. Recovery is frequently discussed in one-on-one conversations between associates or associates and staff. Our educational and support groups are intended to support staff and associates’ recovery. While staff and associates are in recovery from their illness or life condition, they have, at times, acted in ways that are unacceptable and need some sort of intervention. For some, recovery is first explored in a meeting with the Associate Governing Board (AGB) after an associate has been suspended from the Center for unacceptable behavior.

As individuals in recovery, it is important for us to recognize that what we do matters. Our actions matter, not only because we are people of worth who continually make decisions about whether we will act to help or harm others. Our actions matter because they affect others, whether we intend them to or not. Staff and associates are affected when an associate of the center is victimized or causes harm. We are all affected when

associates engage in criminal activity on the Center grounds or in the surrounding neighborhood. All of our associates represent the Center, and drug use, soliciting sex, trespassing on private property and verbal or physical altercations all make statements about the Center and the people who come here.

Such actions lead to suspension from the Center and a requirement that those involved not return to the Center until they can attend a Code of Conduct meeting with the AGB. These meetings are held twice a month, on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of every month at 12pm at our West location.

The P.E.E.R. Center is a place of recovery. We hope you will make use of the groups, computers, and information pieces that have been made available. Most importantly, we hope you will get to know the associates and staff at The P.E.E.R. Center. They are our most significant and unique assets

Meet the Team