ABOUT PeerFest

In December 2013, the National Alternatives Conference was held in Austin, Texas, for the first time in their 30+ year history. Over 300 people from across Texas were able to attend the conference with financial support from the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health through Via Hope, Texas Mental Health Resource as a grant partner. The spirit and energy of the Texans who attended the national conference prompted the foundation to consider hosting a similar event specifically for and by Texans with lived mental health experience.

After an extensive exploration process with stakeholders, in 2015, the foundation’s staff with lived mental health experience brought together a planning committee comprised of 25 individuals with lived mental health experience. Attention was paid to the committee's diversity in terms of mental health recovery experiences, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, gender, veteran status, and geography to ensure representation from all parts of the great state of Texas.

Modeled in part, after the National Alternatives Conference, PeerFest was created with the vision of a place where people facing mental health challenges would be inspired to connect with their peers and live their best lives. An event by and for people with lived mental health experience, the event would provide an opportunity to learn about self-care, wellness tools, explore taboo, alternative, or inaccessible topics, play, connect with peers, and relax & rest.

The inaugural PeerFest in 2016, took place in Corpus Christi, Texas. The event was hugely successful and maxed out with over 330 attendees from all over Texas.

In 2019, with the support of our grant partner Via Hope, the foundation again convened a planning committee of people with lived mental health experience, although this time with 12 members (as decided by the first PeerFest Planning Committee at the follow-up debrief). PeerFest 2020 was scheduled to be held in April 2020, on Galveston Island, Texas. Unfortunately, COVID-19 occurred and caused at first a delay and eventually a complete cancellation of the event.

But PeerFest is back! PeerFest 2024 is scheduled to take place at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX, April 15-18, 2024. Over 350 attendees from Texas are expected at the much-anticipated event.

Read more facts about PeerFest here.