The following organizations may be of assistance to clients:

Disability ilityInfo.org

Boston Center for Independent Living
"[A] 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has provided services to people with disabilities since the organization’s founding in 1974, when it became the second independent living center in the country. The organization was created by people with disabilities seeking full integration into society. BCIL accomplishes this by empowering people with disabilities with the practical skills and self-confidence to take control over their lives and become active members of the communities in which they live. At the same time, BCIL works to promote access and change within society and responds with programs and services to the needs of people of all ages with a wide range of disabilities.

The Transformation Center
"[A] peer-operated center that is spinning off from M-POWER to strengthen a mental health focus on wellness and life recovery through dialogue, education, systems change advocacy, and peer support. We currently offer training for Peer Specialist Certification, Leadership Academy, WRAP Facilitation, Recovery Conversations for Providers and more. The Transformation Center works closely with the six (6) Recovery Learning Communities (RLCs) across the state."

Massachusetts Clubhouse Coaltion
"Operating as a clearinghouse of information, a provider of technical assistance, and a coordinator of resources, the MCC provides a forum for strategic planning and action. The MCC helps its member Clubhouses expand rehabilitative opportunities in employment, housing, education, health and mental health care while promoting the leadership of individuals who have disabilities. Membership in the MCC is awarded to MA Club-houses (and their members and staff) once the Clubhouse achieves certification from the International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD). The MCC also serves as a model for Clubhouse Coalitions internationally and is overseeing the National Employment Expansion Project. The Project is a multifaceted approach to expanding employ-ment opportunities while raising awareness about mental illness."

"RECOVERY LEARNING COMMUNITIES" are peer-run organizations providing support, education and advocacy in each DMH catchment area (Western, Central, Northeast, Southeast, Metro-Suburban, and Metro-Boston).

Listed below, by region, are links to the six RLCs, as well as other peer-oriented services:

& Central Mass Regional Listings	& Metro Boston Regional Listings
& Metro Suburban Regional Listings	& Northeastern Regional Listings
& Southeastern Regional Listings	& Western Mass Regional Listings

National Alliance on Mental Health - Massachusetts Chapter
NAMI Greater Boston Consumer Advocacy/Affiliate Network: "GB-CAN"
"[A] grassroots organization of people with lived experience of mental health conditions. We are an affiliate of NAMI-Mass. We are dedicated to eliminating the suffering caused by mental illness, and to ending the stigma and prejudice experienced by our peers. We provide support, education, and advocacy for and by people in recovery. NAMI is known as the "Nation's Voice on Mental Illness" and we at GB-CAN believe that voice must be recovery-oriented and value the lived experiences of consumers."

Consumer Quality Initiatives
"CQI is a mental health consumer-led, non-profit organization with section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. CQI's executive director and key personnel are people with psychiatric conditions, as are a majority of its board members.

CQI provides a forum for the consumer voice through confidential interviews, focus groups and aggregate reporting. Our data-driven reports are thoughtful, in readable formats, and disseminated in a manner to directly impact behavioral health practice and policy. With the ongoing development of recovery-oriented models of care, we continue to work with community partners and other key stakeholders to strengthen and expand this forum.

CQI also consults with organizations locally and nationally on achieving significant involvement of consumers in the "change" process to promote mental health systems transformation and quality improvement.

CQI's mission and objectives are directly responsive to the 2003 President's New Freedom Commission report's call for a "consumer-driven" mental health system of care, with a specific reference to consumer led research and evaluation."