HELPING REAL PEOPLE WITH REAL STUFF

Who We Are:

MHAAO is a peer-run, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes self-directed recovery and wellness for all by offering recovery peer services, training, and technical assistance.
Peer services for those experiencing mental health and / or addiction challenges are provided at no cost within the greater Portland, OR metropolitan area (Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties) through our EVOLVE and Pathway Home programs.
MHAAO also provides training services and continuing education units (CEU) for peer support specialists and those interested in becoming certified, wherever they may be. To further the growth of the peer support community, we host Peerpocalypse, an annual leadership conference for those working in peer support and their allies.

Our Mission:

MHAAO is an inclusive peer-run organization dedicated to self-direction honoring the voice of lived experience.

Our Vision:

MHAAO is committed to promoting self-directed recovery and wellness for all individuals. We honor lived experiences. We support people wherever they are on their journey, free from judgment or agenda. 

We support these aims through education, advocacy, recovery peer services, training, technical assistance, community collaboration, and developing the peer workforce and leadership.

Our Core Values:

We at MHAAO believe:

  • that all individuals who experience mental health and/or addiction challenges can recover and that recovery, its journey and process, is unique to the individual.

  • that recipients of our services have the right and the ability to make decisions for themselves about what supports they would prefer to receive and the directions they wish to explore.

  • the role of any MHAAO team member regardless of position, is not to infringe on the choices made by the individuals we serve, but to offer support toward mutually agreed upon goals and to offer feedback or possible options and resources, as requested by those individuals.

  • in social justice and realize that equity work is critical to the continued success of our organization and the communities we serve. We commit to understanding what equity is and acknowledging that not all people have the same starting point. We commit to staying engaged in the issue of equity and, when we misstep, offering the necessary repair work.