Free Immigrant & Refugee Peer Support — Portland, ME | MANA
The Maine Association for New Americans (MANA) runs a Community Wellness and Peer Support program in Portland for immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking community members. The program provides emotional support to individuals dealing with mental health challenges through one-on-one and group sessions, using the Intentional Peer Support model as a supplement to conventional mental health services rather than a replacement for them.
What to Expect
MANA’s peer support team integrates something most mental health settings cannot: the lived experience of moving to the United States from their own home countries. That shared history establishes mutuality quickly and lets community members narrate traumatic experiences without the additional burden of navigating an unfamiliar language or educating the listener about their culture, traditions, and migration journey. Alongside group sessions, MANA offers wellness programming tailored to different age groups. Women’s Wellness meets every second and fourth Thursday of the month and creates space for women to come together to break bread, paint, visit local gardens, and have meaningful conversation. #GOALS supports high school students with academic, personal, and wellness goals through biweekly meetings and seasonal retreats. #WEOUTSIDE brings youth, adults, and elders into Maine’s outdoors across the seasons. Older Adults Wellness addresses isolation among immigrant elders through on-site activities and community outings.
Who This Group Is For
Immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking community members in the Portland area — from pre-teens through elders. MANA offers one-on-one and group sessions across that full age range. Programming has previously served youth navigating the asylum system, immigrant parents adapting to parenting in a new legal and cultural context, domestic violence survivors, and families affected by substance use and mental health challenges.
Why Peer Support Works
For people who have recently migrated, conventional mental health services often require doing translation work in two directions at once — linguistic and cultural — while already in distress. Peer support delivered by people who made a similar journey removes that. Participants describe the effect plainly: one Women’s Wellness participant said she felt happy for the first time since coming to the US. A #GOALS participant described wanting to connect with other Black girls and speak about shared issues, because they need to support each other. Those are not small outcomes for people carrying displacement, family separation, and an uncertain immigration status.
How to Join
Programs are offered at no cost to community members. Complete MANA’s Peer Support Request Form or email info@mana-maine.org to get started. Program details are at mana-maine.org/peer-support. MANA is located at 1311 Washington Avenue, Portland, ME 04103; phone (207) 387-0749.