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Peer recovery specialist describes founding support group and work at Ramsey County clinic
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Summary
Tamika Thomas, a certified peer recovery specialist at the Ramsey County Mental Health Clinic, described how her lived experience and a peer support group she started after George Floyd’s killing help people navigate services and feel less alone.
Tamika Thomas, who identified herself during remarks as a certified peer recovery specialist, described her work helping people in recovery at the Ramsey County Mental Health Clinic and the peer support group she founded after George Floyd’s killing.
Thomas said she has worked at the Ramsey County Mental Health Clinic for almost 13 years and often draws on her own experience to connect with clients. "My name is Tamika Thomas. I am a certified peer recovery specialist," she said, adding that she has used a personal overview — "my spiel" — to calm people who arrive "scared" and unsure about where to go.
Thomas told listeners she created her first peer group in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing and called that work "one of the things that I have felt most proud about," saying it produced "a brotherhood with strangers." She acknowledged the emotional strain of the work, saying "it's a lot of days where it becomes to be very heavy," but said those moments are balanced by breakthroughs: "this is the reason why you do this, to help people that don't know where to go."
She closed by offering reassurance to people seeking help: "We're here for you every step of the way."
