Our mission
Stigma Free Peeps is a foundation that promotes education, understanding, and compassion to stop the stigma surrounding alcoholism, addiction, and mental health issues. Our mission is to provide funds for individuals who need support. We hold conversations with clients, families, friends, and companies in all communities to help transform lives through recovery, rehabilitation, counseling and sober living.
Our approach
We want everyone to look through a new pair of glasses and see everyone with addiction and alcoholism with acceptance, understanding, and empathy. Stigma Free Peeps guides people to recognize that trauma, neglect, genetics, psychiatric disorders, and chemical imbalance are many of the factors that contribute to these issues. People facing these challenges get better when we stop the stigma and let them know we understand what they’re going through. Together we can stop the shame, guilt, and fear.
Our goal
We have lost so many people that needed support, didn’t know where to turn, or their shame kept them sick. Many teens and young adults self-medicate when feeling anxious, depressed, or powerless while not being aware of where it could lead. We understand the vicious cycle – our goal is to offer financial help for counseling, rehabilitation, mental health support, and sober living so that everyone who wants to get help will get it. How can a family deal with this who cannot afford to get help? Seeing a loved one suffer and not knowing where to turn is emotionally devastating. The truth sets us all free and can all make a difference to change people’s lives. Let’s celebrate sobriety like any other accomplishment.
Our Founder
Colleen Evans got sober in 1987. After helping her own family members with treatment, she realized the outrageous costs involved with rehab and sober living. She wondered, “How do families who don’t have the resources navigate this?”. Colleen dreamed of Stigma Free Peeps in 2019 as a way to help provide access, spark conversations to break the cycle of addiction and find a way for people to get help. Through her own experiences, she hopes to share reliable information and resources to help others.