Hi folks!

I’m Mark, a certified peer support specialist who has spent the last decade working in nearly every role across the behavioral health industry—outside of clinical licensure. I’ve served as a life coach, a behavioral health tech in both residential and inpatient facilities, a case manager, a 988 and mobile crisis specialist, and a peer group facilitator.

I’ve also been on the other side of care. Growing up, I experienced extended periods without a genuine sense of safety—the basic human need to feel respected, valued, understood, accepted, appreciated, secure, and loved. Carrying an unhealed stress response system into adulthood led me to take drastic measures just to feel secure. I tolerated toxicity because it felt safer than loneliness. I chemically chased dopamine because it felt better than an empty void. I turned to self-harm because pain felt preferable to numbness. I coped the best I could with what I had while others passed judgment. When I turned to a broken system for help, my care teams fixated on my depression and anxiety rather than the root issues: my shame and feelings of worthlessness. It only compounded my hopelessness.

After decades of medication trials, misaligned therapies, and hospitalizations, I finally found a sustainable path to healing. Today, I am fully committed to walking alongside others as they navigate their own complex journeys.

That’s why I founded Peer Homeward. It’s a place of refuge where weary travelers in our community can gather and feel genuinely safe. There’s no need to explain “the why” here—we already get it.

We offer free virtual, non-clinical peer support groups for the LGBTQ+ community and Complex Trauma Resilience, as well as 1:1 Wayfinding Peer Support Sessions. Whether you’re just beginning your recovery, looking to augment your current care, or simply need a grounded resting place between therapy appointments, we’re here for you.

Peer Homeward. Your people are waiting for you.