Our mission is to help any adult living with mental illness in the Eau Claire area achieve wellness, stability, and fullness of life. The Wellness Shack provides a sanctuary environment with individual and group peer support, education, advocacy, and socialization. Adults living with mental health disorders will have opportunities to engage in mental health recovery and participate in the larger community of Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley.

The Wellness Shack is a peer-run mental health recovery center for people who live with severe or persistent mental health disorders. We define “peers” as people with similar circumstances or experiences that are related to living with a mental health disorder(s). Peer-run identifies the Wellness Shack as an organization that is managed and operated by the people who use the Wellness Shack. Many of us have found recovery from our condition by learning to identify and manage our symptoms. This experience gives us a unique perspective that accepts and empathizes with the personal struggles of others as they work toward recovery.

Mental Health Recovery is defined as:

A process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live a self-directed life, and strive to reach their full potential.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, 2012

We are not professional counselors or therapists. We are people who have found a meaningful recovery of our lives, and we seek to share our hope and experience to support others who wish to find the same.

Our services focus on helping people to:

Attain a productive and fulfilling life regardless of the level of health others assumed as attainable.
Using Procovery to Heal Mental Illness, Kathleen Crowley 2004

What is commonly known as Mental Illness is best defined as “a condition that affects a person's thinking, feeling, or mood. Such conditions may affect someone's ability to relate to others and function each day." National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Mental health disorders are not a sign of weakness, poor character, upbringing, or moral values. Research suggests there may be multiple linking causes. Biochemical processes of the brain, or neuropathway circuits and basic brain structure are thought to be the cause. Genetics, environment and lifestyle can also influence whether someone develops a mental health condition. A stressful job or home life can make some people more susceptible. Many people with mental health disorders have experienced traumatic events in their life.
- Learn more at: nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions

Mental health is defined by the World Health Organization as “a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”.

A Mental Health Recovery Center is a place where:

• The environment promotes the ideals of recovery
• People feel safe, respected, and accepted
• Recovery principles are taught and demonstrated
• People living with mental health disorders can find hope and support that make recovery possible.