Try these free peer support groups. Peer support groups can be a great way to get free support from other people with a similar experience, without long waits. All groups listed below are facilitated by and for members of the BIPOC community who have personal experience with the mental health system, with trauma, or with getting support themselves. Contact us for more support options.
NAMI Connection is a free, peer-led support group for people who are concerned about their mental health. Groups are led by NAMI-trained facilitators who’ve been there. Connection groups allow you to talk about your experiences in a safe and confidential setting. The groups encourage empathy, productive discussion, and a sense of community. You will gain insight from hearing the challenges and successes of others.
NAMI Massachusetts hosts free Zoom and call-in Connection support groups for BIPOC on Tuesday mornings and Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. Learn more: https://namimass.org/nami-connection-recovery-support-groups/
Fireweed Collective Support Groups are unstructured spaces where folks can connect to, and offer mutual aid with others who share similar life experiences and struggles. Groups run for a month. They meet once a week online for one hour. All support groups are free and are facilitated by members of Fireweed Collective (donations welcome). Learn more: https://fireweedcollective.org/support-groups/.
Groups that are regularly offered:
- QTBIPOC (Queer and Trans Black, Indigenous, People of Color ) Support Space
- Healing Verses: A Healing Justice Approach To Collective Poetry Crafting For BIPOC & Latinx Folks
- Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: Black people leaning into media and creativity to vision a better world
- Spooned Out & Plugged In: A Group For BIPOC Disabled/Chronically Ill/Neurodivergent Folks
A peer support group for Black and Latinx teens ages 13 to 19. Join us & share/listen to what is going on around you. How are you feeling about it? What is on your mind? Connect with other young adults in Black Teens Talk.
Free Zoom support group meeting bi-weekly on Sundays. Hosted by the Wildflower Alliance. Learn more: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZApdu6oqzgrGtwUHNw_syG4xxPgJWBAhz-n
Join us for our Closed BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Color only) group: in this place we come together to enjoy meals or snacks and put down the heavy burdens of the world, at least for a little while. We hope to provide a space where we do things like meditation, arts and crafts, and whatever else we might come up with as a group that extends our goal of a healing environment.
Free Discord support group meeting on Mondays. Hosted by the Wildflower Alliance. Learn more: https://discord.com/invite/248Ty6J.
A virtual space led for and by the Black Community. All Black people are welcome, there is no such thing as “not Black enough” — if you identify as Black, you are Black, and you are welcome. Join us as we build community and support one another, and hold space for each other to talk about the Black experience in a safe space.
Free Zoom group hosted by Peer Support Space meeting on the last Wednesday of the month. Learn more: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/your-black-matters-tickets-115070111802.
A closed support group for young adults (ages 18-28) with mental health and substance misuse challenges.
Free Zoom group hosted by the Southeast Recovery Learning Community on Fridays. Learn more: https://www.southeastrlc.org/brockton.
A free peer support group for members of the Black community who are living with a mood disorder. The group, led by a Black peer facilitator and a support specialist, will also offer one-on-one support services to group members at the end of each meeting. Learn more: https://www.dbsalliance.org/support/chapters-and-support-groups/online-support-groups/#national.
GRACE (Gathering for Resilient Afrocentric Community Empowerment) Peer Fellowship Meeting. Come celebrate the strength, grace, and self empowerment of all Black women. Weekly starting in February. Contact Ruthie at rpoole@baycove.org. Learn more: https://twitter.com/ExpressionsOfMS/status/1488789673614917636?s=20&t=GPoQqlOosDEDSi5cMrv7HQ.
DeeDee’s Cry works to provide resources and education on the importance of mental health and wellness within communities of color. They offer support groups for suicide attempt survivors, awareness events, training, and more.
Learn more: http://www.deedeescry.com/services/.
Check out these resources!
Finding a mental health professional that meets your needs can be hard. These websites can help you find a therapist that works for you. A therapist is someone you can talk to about what you’re experiencing and get support.
These free services can help you find a therapist (for people in Massachusetts – may be limited by city or town).
Try these websites for help finding a psychiatrist or other provider that can prescribe psychiatric medication.
These free services can help you find a psychiatrist or other mental health prescriber (for people in Massachusetts – may be limited by city or town).
Check out these online communities for more support!
BEAM is a collective of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists committed to the emotional/mental health and healing of Black communities. Beam offers virtual support spaces, training, and more. Sign up for their e-newsletter to get ideas for self-care and supporting others.
Learn more: https://www.beam.community/.
Black Mental Health Matters online group is a space for Black community members to connect with one another, support each other, share resources, knowledge, and build resilience together.
Learn more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2567639780157371.
QTPoC Mental Health empowers the community through knowledge and compassion, with the ultimate goals of creating online & offline spaces for LGBTQ2IA people of color to be comfortably, unapologetically our whole selves. The volunteer-led group uplifts QTPoC in our intersecting identities, understanding that this means different things to different people.
Learn more: https://www.facebook.com/QTPOCsupport/.
A subreddit featuring community, support, and mental health resources for you.
Posts: https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackMentalHealth/.
Wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/BlackMentalHealth/wiki/index.
A mental health collective of Black/brown women, femmes, and nonbinary folks that offers yoga, mental health check-ins, discussion groups, socializing events, and more.
Learn more: https://www.yougoodsis.co/
Sista Afya Community Mental Wellness’ vision is for Black women across the African Diaspora to be free from psychological and physical illness through supporting one another and engaging in accessible mental wellness care that centers the well-being of the whole person. They offer online support spaces, workshops, and more.
Learn more: https://www.sistaafya.com/.
Check out these self-help resources!
A guide from the Fireweed Collective. Madness & Oppression examines the intersections of oppression and mental health struggles, and takes you through the process of creating your own personal wellness document.
Check it out: https://fireweedcollective.org/publication/madness-oppression-paths-to-personal-transformation-and-collective-liberation/.
A zine from DiasporanSavantPress. A super helpful tool for:
- considering how you can care for yourself as an act of political warfare
- considering what models exist in your realms of experience and knowing that can aid you in sustaining your spirit and wellness
- examining what barriers exist to self-care in your life
- reflecting on how reducing harm in your personal life can aid in liberation on a societal level
- taking inventory of your strengths and how they can serve you on your journey
Check it out: https://www.etsy.com/listing/719036225/the-audre-lorde-harm-reduction-workbook.
A poetry zine explores themes on black womxn and mixed race identity. The poems take on the vulnerable lens of truth telling as a way to heal oneself from trauma and return to the root (the etymological meaning of radical) of being and loving the self. These poems and collages are a beautiful and proud recognition of womanhood, bothness, blackness and powerfully hold the coexistence of healing and suffering and what blooms in that space.
Check it out: https://www.flowerflowerpress.press/shop/radical-self-care-for-black-women
You’ll find more than 150 exercises that will help you radically choose to put yourself first. Whether you need a quick pick-me-up in the middle of the day, you’re working through feelings of burnout, or you need to process a microaggression, this book has everything you need to feel more at peace. Learn more: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Self-Care-for-Black-Women/Oludara-Adeeyo/9781507217313.
Article by Kelechi Ubozoh. Read it here: https://kelechiubozoh.com/2020/06/04/reimagining-self-care/.
Exhale is a well-being app designed specifically for Black, Indigenous, Women of Color (BIWOC). Learn more: https://www.exhalesite.com/.
Liberate is a daily meditation app created by and for the Black community. Learn more: https://liberatemeditation.com/.
The Safe Place is a mental health app geared towards the Black Community. The purpose of the “Safe Place” is to bring more awareness, education, and hope to this serious issue. App features include inspirational quotes, self-care tips, articles, open forum discussions, and more.
Download for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.he6ecb72aef1.
Download for iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-safe-place/id1349460763.
Here is a collection of Instagram accounts that focus on mental health, wellness, and related topics for the Black community.
Check out these podcasts that focus on mental health, wellness, and related topics for the Black community.
Check out these other resource collections!
Contact the NAMI Mass Compass Helpline. Compass is available Monday through Friday, 10 am – 6 pm. Call us at 617-704-6264 or email us at compass@namimass.org.