Amistad - Peer Support and Recovery Center

Amistad is a non-profit corporation started in 1982 that provides progressive and consumer directed services based on a belief in the potential of individuals with serious life challenges to live full, rich and productive lives.

Our Vision

A community in which all individuals are accepted, encouraged, and respected.

Our Mission

The Mission of Amistad is to foster a community for people who are facing mental health and other life challenges, develop peer services, and advocate for changes to the mental health system which are based on a belief in recovery and respect for a meaningful consumer voice.

These core values guide our work:

We believe that all members of the Amistad community - members, staff and those seeking services - deserve to be treated equally and with dignity and respect at all times.
We have a fundamental and unwavering belief in the power and possibility of recovery and absolutely believe that all individuals can lead full, rich, and productive lives.
We believe that services that are organized and delivered by peers focus on building positive relationships and should become an integral part of the mental health system.
Recovery

We have a fundamental and unwavering belief in the power and possibility of recovery. We absolutely believe that all individuals can lead full, rich, and productive lives.

I am a living example that Recovery is possible.

- Jan Anderson - Maine Warm Line Peer Specialist

Jan is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who also suffered from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Utilizing tools and principles of Recovery, Jan dealt with her addictions and mental health until she was ready to return to the workforce full-time as a trained Peer Specialist. Jan removed herself from Social Security Disability and is now able to help others on the Recovery journey.

Relationships

We believe mental health is enhanced when medical treatment and peer support work in partnership to address the needs of the whole individual.

It’s not about the illness. It’s about the individual.

- Dennis King - CEO of Spring Harbor Hospital

At Spring Harbor Hospital & Maine Medical Center, we believe “peers,” individuals with similar mental health experiences, can provide support and hope to complement the delivery and effectiveness of our medical treatment. That’s why we have partnered with Amistad to train Peer Specialists who are available each night in the Psychiatric Emergency Department to help support individuals’ unique needs and experiences.

Respect

We believe that all members of the Amistad community - members, staff, and those seeking our services - deserve to be treated with dignity and respect at all times.

I want to be treated the same as anybody else!

- Kathy Black - Amistad Peer Center Member and Board Member

Ten years ago Kathy came to the Amistad Peer Support & Recovery Center with emotional pain and experiences she wanted to forget, but couldn’t. She found a place where she was treated with dignity and respect, that allowed her to sit with the pain in the company of others who understood; to acknowledge those experiences without them defining her. She found a community where she could be herself.