About Recovery All Ways

A peer-led, community-centered organization rooted in dignity, harm reduction, and real support.

Recovery All Ways (RAW) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Rochester, New York. We support people impacted by substance use, mental health challenges, homelessness, and the many barriers that come with trying to survive in systems that were not built with everyone in mind.

We believe people deserve care, safety, and respect exactly as they are. No shame. No judgment. Just practical support, connection, and community.

See RAW in action

Community care looks like people showing up.

This short video offers a look at who we are, how we show up, and what it means to meet people with dignity, harm reduction, practical support, and love without shame or judgment.

Our mission

Our mission is to support anyone and everyone affected by substance use, mental health challenges, and homelessness by meeting people where they are with compassion, consistency, and practical care.

Our First Why

Built from love, loss, and the belief that every life matters.

At the heart of RAW’s beginning is Justin Mathew Forrester. His life, his love, and his memory are part of the foundation this work was built on.

Justin is not our only why. RAW now carries the names, faces, stories, and memories of so many people we love. But Justin is built into our beginning, and his legacy continues to move through the way we show up for our neighbors.

Read Justin’s Story

Who we are

RAW is a working, peer-led organization. That means the people guiding this work are also closely connected to it. Our founders, board members, volunteers, and supporters understand this work not just in theory, but through lived experience, community relationships, and a real commitment to showing up.

We are rooted in Rochester and grounded in the belief that care should be human, practical, and accessible. We know that healing, recovery, and stability do not all look the same. We do not believe people need to earn compassion before receiving support.

We also know that sometimes what helps most is not a speech or a lecture. Sometimes it is a meal, a coat, clean supplies, naloxone, wound care, a ride, a conversation, or simply seeing a familiar face that treats you like you matter.

What makes RAW different

Peer-led

We believe lived experience matters. Many of the people involved in RAW understand recovery, harm reduction, poverty, homelessness, and community need up close.

No-barrier

We work hard to reduce obstacles, not create more of them. People do not need to be perfect, polished, or in a specific stage of change to receive support.

Harm reduction rooted

We focus on reducing harm, building trust, and helping people stay alive and as safe as possible. We believe dignity and practical support save lives.

Community-centered

We show up consistently for our neighbors and our city. We believe community care matters, and that support should be rooted in real life, not distance or judgment.

What we do

RAW provides practical, community-based support that helps meet immediate needs while building trust and connection over time.

  • Weekly Sunday outreach with food, coffee, clothing, hygiene items, and seasonal essentials
  • Naloxone distribution, overdose prevention education, and community training
  • Safer use supplies, wound care support, and other practical care items
  • Cleanup outreach and wellness checks in the community
  • Connection to local resources, referrals, and additional support
  • Opportunities for volunteers and community members to show up, help out, and be part of something real

How we show up

At RAW, we believe people deserve to be met with dignity first. We do not reduce people to their housing status, substance use, mental health challenges, or hardest day.

We meet people where they are. We do not use shame as a tool. We believe connection, consistency, and honest support matter. We believe people deserve choices, and that keeping people alive comes first.

Harm reduction is not separate from community care. To us, they go hand in hand.

Learn more about RAW

Whether you are looking for support, trying to understand our approach, or hoping to get involved, we would love to help you find the right next step.