Real Lives. Real Experiences.
We believe that sharing our lived experiences with others helps properly educate, support, and strengthen families and the communities we call home—because when people understand, connect, and learn from one another, resilient communities are built.
WAYS WE HELP
Advocacy
Communities need a Mental Health Court and a restorative Diversion Program.
We are advocating with our lawmakers to make this a reality.
Public education
We educate the community to understand mental illness and its effects, encouraging empathy and creating a stronger family support system.
Family Support
Families are suffering too. When one is affected many are affected. We provide access to FREE therapy through Betterhelp and restorative circles to families struggling to support their loved ones.
Access to Free Therapy
When one person struggles with mental illness, the whole family carries the weight.
You’re not alone. We support families across St. Johns, Duval, and Putnam counties by helping them feel heard, find support, and connection through restorative circles.
We can also help connect families with free telehealth options through BetterHelp.
Creative Connection
Several times a month we provide an avenue for mental health socialization and acceptance to those who are not normally included or accepted in our society’s social settings.
We provide meals and snacks to take home in an atypical environment of therapeutic fun. Here, one will find a safe place of comfort and education while having fun with peers who have similar struggles and social anxieties.
Letters
of Hope
Each letter carries more than ink on paper — it carries hope, light, and love into places that need it most. Through the Letters of Hope Initiative, your words reach those who are struggling with mental illness, and those who find themselves isolated, hospitalized, or incarcerated.
Your message can remind them that they matter, that they are not forgotten, and that there is still goodness in the world.
That kind of impact is immeasurable. Learn how to volunteer today!💖
Lisa Taliaferro
Founder and President
OUR PARTNERS
.jpg)
Our Model
Through the use of the CARE Model, Patients Not Prisoners obtained community data that guided the creation of programs that shift current systems and practices for people living with a mental illness.
We seek to reduce the criminalization of mental illness in Putnam & St. Johns County, FL. Many of the people incarcerated sit at the intersection of racism, poverty, and mental illness.
As a result of the CARE Model, Patients Not Prisoners came up with three solutions:
ADVOCATE for and provide better resources and support for those experiencing mental illness.
EDUCATE the community to understand mental illness and its effects, encouraging empathy and creating a stronger family support system.
SUPPORT families with access to mental health services.
.jpg)