Mental Health Peer Connection

Mental Health Peer Connection is an agency of the WNY Independent Living that only employs people who have been diagnosed with mental illness and/or substance abuse in an effort to help others with mental health and/or substance abuse issues live as independently as possible in the community at large. These people, peers, are in recovery and would like to share their experiences with others who have mental illness and/or substance abuse issues in an effort to assist in those they serve in recovery through genuine peer mentoring in getting and staying out of institutions, maximizing community living, and/or in becoming employed. Our peers provide peer counseling, independent living skills, advocacy, benefits advisement, and information and referral in order to assist those they serve. Our peers would like to do this because they have been there, they have been in institutions, homeless, unemployed and unemployable and are no longer so. They can assist others in similar situations because they know what it is like and know what is needed to get out of institutions, unemployment, and into community integration.

You can expect services that assist the individual with mental health and/or substance abuse issues in empowering you to make informed decisions, educating you on the different options you have, and providing an equal relationship that is based on mutual trust, respect, and dignity. We assist you in obtaining your goals. You are in the driver's seat; you determine how you want our peers to assist you in self-directed growth. We do not do "for" you; we do "with" you.

You can seek services by contacting our intake office by phone at (716)836-0822, Ext. 126 through e-mail at info@wnyil.org, or by letter, MHPC at 3108 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14214. ,

You must contact us yourself to get services, you must be a person that has been diagnosed with a mental illness and reside in Erie County, New York. Services are at no cost to you and are funded through the Erie County Department of Mental Health.

If you want to improve your life while living with being labeled with a mental illness and/or substance abuse diagnoses, you should definitely contact us.

• List of M H P C Services