Thresholds' New Freedom Centers employs staff who are in recovery from mental illness. They provide community support services focused on illness self-management, skill-building identification, and the use of natural supports and community resources. These Certified Recovery Support Specialists (CRSS) operate our two New Freedom Centers, which offer a range of daily, drop-in activities that include art groups, basic living skills, holiday parties, and volunteer opportunities. The centers provide a vital social network as well as a host of programming, including topics related to peer services, empowerment, self-advocacy, system transformation, and consumer choice.Peer Success operates two of the four New Freedom Centers at Thresholds. The centers are open seven days a week for consumers of all levels of mental health services. People who come to the New Freedom Centers learn about mental health recovery by meeting people who are themselves in recovery. Many people who are moving out of Institutes of Mental Disease or nursing homes back into their community have identified building social relationships as one of their primary struggles. The program also operates an Empowerment Center six days a week, where structured self-care and recovery groups are offered.The centers provide a vital social network as well as a host of programming, including topics related to peer services, empowerment, self-advocacy, system transformation, and consumer choice.