Giving Tuesday is December 1. Your gift pays a peer specialist to show up for a neighbor in recovery.

Give on Giving Tuesday
Peer recovery · Ward 8 · Washington, DC

Recovery is a journey best traveled together.

At Dreamers and Achievers, people in recovery are trained and hired to walk alongside others in recovery. One paycheck, one peer, one life moving forward at a time.

Get support Support our work Partner with us

Walk in to 3625 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE. Serving Ward 8 since 2019.

Our model

Lived experience is the qualification.

Our peer support specialists have been where the people they serve are standing. That shared experience builds trust no brochure can. It also builds careers.

“It’s better to connect with someone who knows what you’re going through and has been there.”Dreamers and Achievers Center leadership
Two women reading a handout together during a session

Walk in

Anyone can come through our doors for one-on-one support and peer groups on coping skills, mindfulness, spirituality, anger management and more. Free, open to adults 18 and over, and no insurance needed.

Train and get certified

People further along in recovery train as certified peer support specialists, and we hire them to do the work, at $20.50 an hour.

Move forward

With a paycheck, a credential and job-ready skills, our peers go on to jobs across the city or grow into leadership roles on our team.

What the work adds up to

Support for the community. Careers for the people who give it.

60+people a month come to the center for one-on-one support and groups
35people in recovery employed as peer staff over the last three years
18have gone on to jobs with other employers
4advanced onto our permanent staff

Source: Dreamers and Achievers Center program records. See our impact

In their own words

“We don’t look down on people unless we’re going to lift them up.”

Meet the peer specialists and participants who make the center what it is.

“Once I recovered, I was able to help someone else in the recovery process. And I do this on a day-to-day basis.”Derwin Gaines, Recovery Coach and Certified Peer Specialist
“I could just say a couple of words to make them smile. And that makes my day.”Maurice Gross, Recovery Coach and Certified Peer Specialist
“They helped me learn how to face my fear by going out into the community.”H.C.S., participant
Get support

You don’t have to do this alone.

Walk in during open hours. You’ll be met by someone who has been there.

Peer groups

Coping skills, self-care, mindfulness, spirituality, anger management, co-occurring support and opioid recovery groups.

One-on-one support

Meet with a certified peer specialist to set goals and work through what’s in front of you.

Narcan and outreach

Free Narcan, overdose-response training and outreach across Ward 8.

Everyday needs

Food, clothing and help getting an ID and connecting to other resources in the community.

Visit us

3625 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE, Unit 3
Washington, DC 20032

(202) 763-7904

Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–5 p.m. · 2nd & 4th Saturday 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

Get directions
In crisis or after an overdose, call or text 988, or call the DC Access HelpLine at 1-888-793-4357. In an emergency, call 911.
Recovery in Action · National Recovery Month 2026

Two days. Sixty neighbors. One community goal.

On September 24 at THEARC and September 30 here at our center on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, we brought six community partners together for nutrition, mind-body wellness, creative reflection, budgeting and goal setting, Narcan education and clothing distribution.

A team member in a Dreamers and Achievers sweatshirt at the event
Resource tables at THEARC
A nutrition presenter speaking at a table
A volunteer smiling at a welcome table
A healthy cooking demonstration
An attendee writing a message of hope on a gratitude board
A partner resource table at our center
What your support does

Every gift pays a peer to show up for a neighbor.

Our peer specialists are paid $20.50 an hour to do the work that keeps people connected to recovery. Your gift goes straight into those hours.

Give today Give monthly
$41pays for two hours of one-on-one peer support $164pays a peer specialist for a full day at the center $820pays a peer specialist for a full week $25/mojoins the Achievers Circle, our monthly giving family
Our partners

Banks, employers and neighbors who back the work.

DC GovernmentDC Department of Behavioral Health · Funder
Capital BankFinancial wellness workshops
Atlantic Union Bank
Andrews Federal Credit UnionFinancial wellness
WC Smith
Capital OneFinancial literacy sessions
Volunteers of America Chesapeake and Carolinas
Family Medical and Counseling ServicesFamily Medical and Counseling Services
Holistic Wellness
Extend-A-Hand
THEARCRecovery in Action host

Become a partner

Partner with a center that turns recovery into careers.

Foundations, banks, employers and community partners help us reach more people in Ward 8 and train more peer specialists. Let’s talk about what we could do together.

Ways to partner See our impact