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HOLISTIC, PEER LED RECOVERY RESOURCES
DISCOVER YOUR FULL POTENTIAL
| | | | CALL: (860) 505-7581 | EMAIL: INFO@ADVOCACYUNLIMITED.ORG | | |
HIGHLIGHT: TRAINING
- Facilitator Training: CT Hearing Voices Network
New Program Launches
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Youth Peer Support available for young people ages 14-17 ♥
Peer Education
- CEU: Faith-Based Recovery
- CEU: Problem Gambling
- CEU: Body Wisdom
- CEU: From Prison to Power
Peer Support Groups
- CT Alternatives to Suicide
- CT Hearing Voices Network
- Late Night Support Meetings from RIPPLE
Peer Support @AU
- Bridger Program
- CT Alternatives to Suicide
- CT Hearing Voices Network
- Join Rise Be
- Toivo
Legislative Advocacy Update
- Peer Support Facts Page
- Get Involved
- Monday Legislative Peer Advocacy Group
Peer Employment Opportunities
- WE ARE HIRING - Apply Today!
CT Addiction Peer Recovery
Peer Respites
- Gloria House
- Anemoni
- Afiya
National Peer Support Resources
Other Connecticut Recovery Resources
Contact Us
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CREATIVITY PUZZLE
Remote Associates Test
The Remote Associates Test normally takes a linguistic form: given three words, the participant is asked to come up with a fourth word associated with all three of them.
Example: Square | Cardboard | Open - BOX
Brush, Tie, Dye | ASSOCIATED WORD
ANSWER AT THE BOTTOM OF NEWSLETTER!
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ALMOST FULL - REGISTER TODAY
BECOME A FACILITATOR
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Advocacy Unlimited
2075 Silas Deane Highway
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
21 RSS CEU
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3-DAY CT HVN
FACILITATOR TRAINING
July 14-16, 2026* must attend all days
9:00AM - 5:00PM
FEE: $150
Become a trained CT HVN Facilitator Today. With this training you will learn how to engage and support people who hear voices, see visions, or have other unusual sensory perceptions; whether you are doing so professionally or personally - you will be eligible to join the AU Facilitator Network as a paid facilitator.
Learning Objectives:
- will learn how to apply the four elements of the dialogic approach of Validation-Curiosity-Vulnerability-Community (VCVC).
- will learn at least three ways to reduce power differentials in the group environment in order to reduce conflict and facilitate connection.
- will identify at least five types of coping strategies that voice-hearers can utilize beyond distraction or neuroleptics.
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Who is a Youth Peer Bridger?
Offers guidance to young people ages 14-17 with substance use concerns, and who may experience mental health and/or physical health challenges.
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Who is this Program for?
No cost for participation
1:1 peer support
For young people ages 14-17
Mobile and phone-based support available
No diagnosis or previous treatment required
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Mission:
Our mission is to empower youth to navigate life transitions with confidence by providing strength-based peer support grounded in lived experience, hope, and self- determination.
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Who can Make a Referral?
Schools
Community
Self-referral
Parents
Anyone
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Are Services Available Statewide?
Yes - services are available statewide, with AU serving regions 3, 4, and 6 and our partner organization, CCAR, serving regions 1, 2, and 5 &
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What is Peer Support?
Through one-on-one support, connection to community resources, goal setting, and encouragement, we help youth feel heard, supported, and empowered to take the next step on their personal wellness journey.
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Benefits of Peer Support?
Research shows that peer support improves outcomes, increases engagement, and helps young people move forward in their lives with hope and purpose.
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AU Service Area
Hartford, Manchester, Middletown, Norwich, Willimantic, New Britain, Meriden, and surrounding towns!
| | PEER FORUM: Supporting Others in Faith-Based Recovery | |
June 5, 2026
1:00- 3:00PM
In collaboration with Pivot Ministries, this peer forum will explore how faith and spirituality can anchor recovery while maintaining ethical and inclusive practices. Led by experienced peer professionals with expertise in recovery-oriented support.
Learning Objectives:
1) Examine the role of faith in recovery
2) Identify ethical best practices and boundaries
3) Develop collaboration strategies with faith communities
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Burroughs Community Center
2470 Fairfield Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06605
2 RSS CEUs
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Advocacy Unlimited
2075 Silas Deane Highway
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
10 RSS CEUs
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PROBLEM GAMBLING in the Digital Age
June 9, 2026
10:00 - 11:30 AM
This training is designed to assist attendees to better understand digital gambling trends including apps, sports betting, and online casinos. We know that gambling has become much more than slot machines and horse betting. Join us to explore ways we can learn how to support our friends, participants, and family members who may be experiencing challenges with navigating gambling in the digital age.
Learning Objectives:
1) Identify trends in digital gambling
2) Recognize warning signs and risk factors
3) Explore prevention and recovery resources
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BODY WISDOM
Understanding Self-Care through the Nervous System
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June 16, 2026
10:00-1:00PM
Join us for a continuing educational oppporuntiyt to expand how we understand stress, behavior, and self-care through the lens of the nervous system. Participants will gain practical insight into how their nervous system influences emotions, reactions, and interpersonal dynamics. Through guided, experiential exercises, attendees will explore their own physiological stress responses and learn simple, accessible techniques to regulate and balance their nervous system.
Learning Objectives:
1) Identify the three branches of the autonomic nervous system, as defined by the polyvagal theory.
2) Understand the vagus nerve's role in trauma, stress, burnout, and regulation.
3) Recognize nervous system healing techniques and their real-life applications.
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Advocacy Unlimited
2075 Silas Deane Highway
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
3 RSS CEUs
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The People’s Place
101 Pierpont Rd.
Waterbury, CT 06705
2 RSS CEU
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PEER FORUM:
FROM PRISON TO POWER
Unlocking Potential
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July 10, 2026
1:00 to 3:00PM
This 2-hour Peer Forum is designed to examine the multidimensional process of successful reentry following incarceration. This session brings together three subject-matter experts with lived experience to explore evidence-informed, trauma-responsive, and community-based approaches that support long-term stability and success.
The forum will provide a comprehensive overview of the key domains that influence reentry outcomes, including behavioral health, financial capability, housing access, workforce development, and social support systems. Panelists will draw from both personal experience and professional practice to illustrate how these domains intersect and how barriers within them can be effectively addressed.
Learning Objectives:
1) Break down real, practical routes from incarceration to leadership, and stability.
2) Address housing, employment, mental health, and stigma with both honesty and actionable strategies.
3) Highlight how healing, emotional intelligence, and support systems fuel long-term success.
| | WRAP: Wellness Recovery Action Planning | |
July 22 & 23, 2026* must attend both days
9:00AM to 5:00PM
WRAP is a self-designed, peer-driven wellness and recovery process that helps individuals create the life and wellness they want, no matter what they’re facing. The program helps people build a personalized “Wellness Toolbox” of safe and effective tools, develop daily routines to sustain wellness, and create plans for stressors, early warning signs, crisis and post-crisis recovery.
At its core are five guiding principles: hope, personal responsibility, education, self-advocacy, and support. These principles give people agency: they define what wellness, recovery, and support mean for themselves, then shape a plan that fits their life.
WRAP is designed for anyone, at any time. Though originally developed to support people with serious mental-health challenges, its flexible, person-centered approach works equally well for trauma, stress, addiction, life transitions, physical health struggles, or simply as a daily wellness framework.
WRAP also connects you to a global community, people all over the world who use WRAP to build and maintain wellness. Through certified facilitators, materials, training, and peer-support networks, WRAP has spread internationally and continues evolving to meet diverse needs.
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Learning Objectives
1) Provide a Practical Framework for Preventing & Managing Crisis
2) Gain the tools and structure to create a wellness plan tailored to their own lives, defining what “wellness” means for them and building daily practices to sustain it.
3) Use WRAP to foster self-responsibility, education, and peer support, allowing individuals not just to survive challenges, but to heal, grow, and build supportive networks together.
Advocacy Unlimited
2075 Silas Deane Highway
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
16 RSS CEU
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CT ALTERNATIVES TO SUICIDE SUPPORT GROUP
An Alt2Su group is a 1-hour peer-support group for people living with thoughts of suicide. Groups are facilitated by trained people and are a judgement-free space where participants can talk about suicidal thoughts, and develop strategies for learning to live with these experiences. Check out group details below.
Torrington
3rd Monday of Every Month
10:30 AM - 12:00 PM
CCAR Torrington
Rocky Hill
Every Monday
3:00 - 4:30 PM
Advocacy Unlimited
Hartford
Every Tuesday
3:00 - 4:30 PM
Toivo Center
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CT HEARING VOICES NETWORK
The CT Hearing Voices Network provides statewide support for people who hear voices or have other alternative experiences. CTHVN group times can be subject to change throughout the month.
Updated times and dates can be found on the CTHVN website, including:
VIRTUAL GROUPS
IN PERSON GROUPS
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YOUNG ADULT WARMLINE
PHONE-BASED
PEER SUPPORT
855-646-7366
7 Days a week | 12pm-9pm
Our Warmline offers statewide phone-based peer support for young adults.
Similar to hotlines, staff connect callers to community resources, hold space, and inspire callers to step forward and towards a life of self-defined purpose.
All are welcome to call to connect with a peer today!
| | | | | Reach Out to the Bridger Program | |
Bridgers offer 1:1 peer support to adults living in CT who are 18+ and who find themselves living in difficult circumstances and moving through big transitions.
This program is offered at no cost to participants, and is grant funded.
For more information contact us at:
call: 860-505-7581
email: info@advocacyunlimited.org
| | YOUNG ADULTS | JOIN RISE BE | | | | AN EMERGING ADULT RECOVERY INITIATIVE | We are a grant funded peer-led initiative built by young people for young people. We are based in New Britain, Connecticut and travel statewide to create space through presentations, workshops, and peer-groups. We our shared lived experience so others feel comfortable to do the same. We are here to influence positive change across our current mental health system and within our communities. Through our effort we cultivate the belief that recovery is possible and we all have the capacity to achieve self-defined success. | | |
UPCOMING MEETINGS
March 5
April 2
May 7
June 4
July 2
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YOUNG ADULT ADVISORY BOARD
EVERY FIRST THURSDAY | 11AM-1PM
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A space for young adults from across Connecticut to share, connect and use our collective experiences to improve the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services' young adult programming.
During meetings, we connect, share, and plan statewide recovery and leadership events. We are currently planning the 2023 Young Adult Summer Funfest.
TO REGISTER EMAIL CONNECT@JOINRISEBE.ORG
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HOLISTIC MIND BODY WELLNESS IS OUR INTENTION | | | |
Toivo was established by Advocacy Unlimited, Inc. in 2014 to bring holistic mind body wellness to folks living with a psychiatric diagnosis. Operating as a peer-led initiative, Toivo offers statewide classes, workshops and a center for holistic healing and stress management located in Hartford, Connecticut.
To Learn more visit the Toivo website HERE
| | Featured April Offering at Toivo | | |
Monthly Levitate Sound
Meditation
with Tim Mahoney
Friday, June 5, 2026
6:30-8:00PM
Toivo Center
1477 Park Street, Suite 102
Hartford, CT 06106
Join us for a sound bath immersion taking us on a meditative journey through the body, mind, and spirit. Giant gongs, soothing chimes, rhythmic drums, singing bowls and more invite you to explore, release, reset.
Please plan on arriving early. Yoga mats or chairs and a blanket will be provided, but pillows and blankets and eye masks are great to bring for yourself to create a cozy space.
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Register early as this event fills up quickly. | | | | |
*NEW* Advocacy Page
In response to a growing need to stay informed and organize to advance the interests of the peer recovery workforce, and community at large, we created a new advocacy page on our website, here:
| You can also join us on Mondays virtually at 12noon for the Legislative Peer Workforce Group Meeting | | PEER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES | | |
Advocacy Unlimited, Inc. offers holistic, peer-led, education, advocacy, and support in the areas of mental health, addiction, and trauma recovery. For more than 30 years, AU has maintained the belief that all people have the innate capacity to create a life of self-defined purpose beyond a psychiatric diagnosis and addiction histories. All members of the team champion recovery resources as part of the continuum of care and model recovery with collective care, accountability, and ethics.
BENEFITS:
$26/hour Fulltime Starting Rate
2 weeks available upon hire and renewed annually with up to 6 weeks annual accrual based on time with the organization.
13 scheduled paid holidays and 2 self-select holidays.
Comprehensive coverage available for individuals and family, with only $25 monthly employee contribution toward individual plan premium. Dental included and Vision available.
Includes Accidental Death.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP):
Confidential support services offering counseling, referrals, and resources available to you and your household members at no cost.
Available at 1 year of service.
- Ongoing Professional Development:
Continuing education opportunities to maintain CPSRPs credential.
At the federal rate.
AU Collective Ethics Statement
We are intentionally co-creating an organizational culture that is upheld by the 3 pillars of choice, personal agency, and informed consent. Our approach is guided by the 5 principles of cultural humility, recovery oriented, gender affirming, trauma responsive, and person centered.
- We facilitate transformational spaces where individuals have the opportunity to feel valued, heard, and supported.
- We foster an environment where clear communication, active listening, honoring of boundaries, and openness are embraced.
- We embody the values of consistency, vulnerability, accountability, acceptance, compassion, transparency, and curiosity.
- We invite all to show up as their true selves and grow together in solidarity.
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Community Education Coordinator
Employment Type: Full Time
Program: Peer Recovery Services
Location: Rocky Hill, CT
The role of Community Education Coordinator (CEC) is responsible for organizing, publicizing, and hosting peer delivery educational offerings in compliance with our contracts and with the intention of advancing the interests of the peer recovery workforce.
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Healing From Within Coordinator
Employment Type: Full Time
Program: Toivo
Location: Hartford, CT
The HFW Program Coordinator provides holistic, mind-body wellness as a pathway to mental health, addiction, and trauma recovery at psychiatric facilities and community based organizations across the state. The Program Coordinator manages day-to-day HFW operations and facilitates wellness offerings.
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Program Coordinator
Employment Type: Full-Time
Program: Join Rise Be
Location: Rocky Hill, CT
The JRB Program Coordinator is responsible for statewide young adult outreach, engagement and leadership development. This position requires driving, presentations and tabling. Verbal and digital communication skills are a must.
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Youth Peer Bridger
Employment Type: Full Time
Program: Join Rise Be
Location: Rocky Hill, CT
Youth Peer Bridgers provide brief, transitional peer support to young people aged 14-17. Youth Peer Bridgers are mobile and work with youth participants across CT.
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ARE YOU AN EMPLOYER WITH AN OPEN POSITION?
Know of a job opportunity available? Please let us know, and we'll get the word out to our network of qualified applicants.
EMAIL: info@advocacyunlimited.org
| | | CT ADDICTION PEER RECOVERY | | | | Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery | A community non-profit dedicated to organizing the addiction recovery community (people in recovery, family members, friends and allies) to put a face on recovery and provide recovery support services, we also promote recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction through advocacy, education and services. CCAR meets people where they are. We don’t push any one form of recovery on anyone. | | | | Afiya is the first peer-run respite in Massachusetts and one of only a few dozen in the country. Afiya strives to provide a space in which each person can find the balance and support needed to turn a difficult time into a learning and growth opportunity. We prioritize offering an alternative to/supporting people to avoid psychiatric hospitalization and other more invasive/disruptive interventions. | | Anemoni Peer Respite is Wildflower Alliance’s second peer respite and the first trans and queer peer respite in the world. Located in Holykoe, Massachusetts, Anemoni offers both a place to stay and Mobile Supports in the community | | | | | The Gloria House Peer Respite | The Gloria House is a 4 Bedroom residential peer respite home located in New Britain, CT. The house is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year – by peers who identify as having direct lived experience with mental health, addiction and/ or trauma. The Gloria House offers voluntarily, short-term respite services as an alternative to traditional psychiatric stays. | | | | Late-Night Support Meetings | |
Are you a night owl?
Join RIPPLE for their late-night support groups on zoom, from 10pm-12am on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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Can psychotherapy work against the mainstream system? What does it take to be truly compassionate as a professional? And what are the downsides of promising alternatives such as Open Dialogue?
LISTEN HERE
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National Paranoia Network | |
The Paranoia Network was originally launched in 2004. Run by Peter Bullimore, Kate Crawford and Shaun Hunt, the organization aims to raise awareness of how disabling paranoia can be, and to breakdown social taboos.
Read A tribute to Peter Bullimore
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The Wildflower Alliance supports healing and empowerment for our broader communities and people who have been impacted by psychiatric diagnosis, trauma, extreme states, homelessness, problems with substances and other life-interrupting challenges.
Wildflower Alliance Website: wildfloweralliance.org
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MADNESS NETWORK NEWS
Madness Network News is dedicated to the interchange of energy and support of mad people and psychiatric survivors. Our work is rooted in psychiatric abolition and mad liberation movements, and we are committed to fighting against psychiatric oppression and violence everywhere.
BLOG: Anti-psychiatry vs. Psychiatric Abolition
BY: Róisín
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Open everyday 11:00 am - 11:00 pm PT.
The Psychedelic Peer Support Line is staffed by rigorously trained, compassionate, supportive volunteers from diverse backgrounds who listen deeply and from a place of non-judgment.
| | Alcoholics Anonymous is a worldwide fellowship of people who help each other to stay sober. They offer the same help to anyone who has a drinking problem and wants to do something about it. Since they are all alcoholics themselves, they have a special understanding of each other. They know what the illness feels like – and they have learned how to recover from it in AA. | | The CT Cross Disability Lifespan Alliance is a statewide coalition of individuals and organizations that advocate for the full inclusion and participation of all people with disabilities in their communities. The CCDLA meets every other month to share resources, promote issues of importance and to advocate for solutions that improve the quality of lives for people with disabilities. In addition, the Alliance hosts Policy calls every other week to address policy issues at the local, state, and national levels. | |
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RIPPLE is a small collective of people who have lived experience with mental health and/or addiction challenges. Their mission is to empower their peers and use their voices to educate, inform, and inspire new leaders in the community. They aim to bring new and innovative ideas to the recovery process for the benefit of all.
RIPPLE has a comprehensive list of resources in Connecticut, organized by need and county.
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Learn About:
-The opioid epidemic
-How to prevent an overdose
-How to recognize warning signs & symptoms
-How to administer Narcan (Naloxone)
-Current protective legislation in CT
-Local resources & services
| | Inner Compass Initiative helps people make more informed choices about psychiatric diagnoses and drugs and build community with like-minded others thinking critically about today's mental health industry. We work to support individuals to engage in curious, critical, independent self-education and inner exploration, and collectively, to help develop more interconnected, empowered and resilient grassroots communities. | | Helping Hands: A Resource Guide for Families With Loved Ones In Prison | Prison Families Alliance (PFA) is committed to improving the lives of families and children who have loved ones in the criminal justice system. | | DMHAS Mental Health Bed Website | A new project listing open beds, including 45 state-operated and private non-profit agencies, covering six types of programs and more than 1700 beds. Programs will be updating this site when there is a change in availability and at least weekly. | | |
VETERAN PEER SUPPORT SERVICES
Peer support services help Veterans who are using mental health treatment services in VHA. Any Veteran can have mental health problems, trouble with addictions, or other related problems. These can all negatively affect their daily living and personal wellness. Peer Specialists are employees who are Veterans. They have personally experienced similar life challenges to the Veterans who are using mental health services in VHA.
| | Eating Disorder Support Lines | | | | |
Looking for Shelter? Call 2-1-1 Press 3, then 1 to speak with a housing specialist.
As of 11/17/2014 all requests for shelter beds must be made through 2-1-1
Safelink users call 1-800-203-1234
| | Thanks for reading, and see you next month! | | |
2075 Silas Deane Highway
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
Office Hours: 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday
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CREATIVITY PUZZLE Remote Association Test
Brush, Tie, Dye | HAIR
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