Amistad is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to serving adult consumers of mental health services by delivering peer support programs as an additional tool to the more traditional medical model. The mission is to foster a community that is member directed, operates on the principle of low barrier to use and is built on the rock solid belief in the power and hope of recovery.

Amistad began in 1982 as a social club and evolved into a peer support and recovery center. Through the addition of many unique and innovative peer support programs Amistad is now the largest peer support organization in the state of Maine .

The Peer Support and Recovery Center is located at 66 State Street and is open Monday through Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm. Programs include a Peer Leader Program , The Pause (member operated teaching restaurant), Peer Outreach Program (to serve individuals not connected with the traditional mental health system) and Recovery Classes .

Amistad also runs three major programs throughout the state of Maine . In Portland , at the Maine Medical Center Emergency Department, a Peer Specialist is available every night of the week, 5-11 pm, to support individuals waiting for psychiatric assessment. In Augusta , at Riverview Psychiatric Hospital , Amistad has been contracted to operate a peer specialist program that works with a committee of patients and staff to recruit and hire peers who work side by side with more traditional staff within the hospital. Amistad's newest program is the Maine Warm Line , a confidential non-crisis peer-to-peer support phone line, open every day from 5 pm until 3 am, the hours when the least amount of resources are available.

For more information on the Maine Warm Line , the nation's first state-wide warm line: http://www.mainewarmline.org/

For more information on Amistad: http://www.amistadinc.org/