Thanos first stepped into the peer cafe across from the bus station in downtown Raleigh looking for his friend — and the promise of a free coffee. What keeps him coming back months later is a community of people and group sessions that have supported his substance use recovery.
“Everybody in this room is recovering from something traumatic in their past,” he said, “and now we’re trying to navigate life with the mindset that we have now.”
Thanos, his preferred name, is 28 and has been in recovery from crystal methamphetamine use for four years. When he first started hanging out at the cafe, he was unemployed and without stable housing. The cafe, which has free activities throughout the day like meditation, book club and addiction recovery groups, is run by Promise Resource Network, a Charlotte-based nonprofit that is led by people who all have dealt with mental health challenges and/or substance use issues throughout their lives…