Since 1990, Jefferson Transitional Programs (JTP) has offered vocational, supported sober living, and educational programs for more than 3,500 individuals with chronic mental illness or individuals with both mental illness and addictions, many of whom are homeless. The nonprofit’s purpose is to empower individuals with the skills and tools necessary to move from crisis to stability, victim to survivor, and a state of hopelessness to happiness. JTP offers these services until an individual can meet their program goals and objectives, determining their own length of stay with JTP.

The people of JTP operate on the belief that peer-delivered services, that is services from those who have “been there,”are essential to the successful rehabilitation of people with severe mental illness. At JTP’s two Peer Support and Resource Centers and safe haven The Place, peer staff members coordinate outreach and facilitate courses that encourage individuals to take responsibility for their own wellness. (Courses follow five development tracks - wellness, personal development, employment preparedness, change/adaptively, community reintegration.) JTP’s workforce consists of 85% peers.

In eighteen years, JTP’s budget has grown from $90,000 to a high of nearly $1.7 million as the organization increases programs and numbers of people served. This year a third resource center will open in the Hemet-area and the startup art center project, the first of its kind in the Inland Empire began this July.

Our Mission: To assist individuals with psychiatric and/or dual diagnosis challenges in becoming productive and thriving citizens through the provision of safe, affordable housing; development of functional life skills; opportunities to explore and develop vocational options; and promotion of community awareness and sensitivity to the needs and potential of individuals with psychiatric and/or dual diagnoses.