Painted Brain achieved the accomplishment of building better leaders and creating stronger organizations.

Painted Brain is a peer-led, Los Angeles–based nonprofit building community-driven solutions to mental health challenges. For nearly 20 years, we’ve created spaces where people with lived experience can connect, heal, and lead. Our integrated model bridges peer support, clinical linkages, and community wellness, aligning with Medi-Cal’s Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Community Health Worker (CHW) benefits, prevention and early intervention strategies, and peer workforce development pathways. We bring together licensed professionals, trained peers, and community leaders to create a whole-person approach to recovery. Our model reduces stigma, breaks isolation, and empowers individuals to build meaningful lives. We believe recovery happens in community through creativity, connection, and purpose. By leveraging lived experience with arts, advocacy, and enterprise, Painted Brain fills critical gaps in behavioral health care and grows the workforce of the future.