ROANOKE, Va. – For Heather Wingfield, the nonprofit On Our Own isn’t just a building — it’s where she found her purpose.
Fifteen years ago, Wingfield walked through the doors of On Our Own, desperate, suicidal, and searching for connection.
“At the darkest moment of suicide, this is the place that got me through,” Wingfield said.
On Our Own provides free mental health support 365 days a year.
Now, as a peer support specialist, Wingfield helps others find what she once needed — leading groups, starting conversations, and making one-on-one connections.
“I’ve been able to connect with people—things that I might not have gone through, but I know the feeling that’s behind it,” she said. “Or things I have gone through, and I can share my personal experience, strength and hope.”
Last year, peer support specialists like Wingfield made 8,686 of those connections — real help from people who’ve lived it.
“They need the accessibility,” she said. “I know that if I hadn’t found it, then I wouldn’t be here to give it to others.”
But now, that vital connection point is at risk.
“You’d maybe get a counseling appointment once a week, a doctor’s appointment once a month,” Executive Director Robin Hubert said. “But what do you do all of those days in between? How do you spend your time? So this is a safe place to come to, that is all peers.”
After nearly 18 years on Elm Avenue, Hubert says they need to find a new home.
“Our landlord is needing to sell. So at the end of this month, our lease ends,” Hubert said.
The team has been searching, but several building options have already fallen through.
Wingfield said it’s not just about having a roof overhead — the space itself is important for the people they serve, many of whom are unhoused.
“The nonclinical feeling of this building is incredibly crucial,” she said. “It brings in more warmth, more connectivity. It’s a family feeling instead of you’re a number on a piece of paper.”
Board member and group leader John Moorefield helps run some of the 300 peer support groups held each year, serving more than 1,800 people who come for connection, comfort, and understanding.
“It would be great to have something on the bus line,” Moorefield said. “It would be great to have something accessible for everyone.”
Hubert said they’re hopeful someone will see their story and step in to help — but even if not, the mission will continue.
“Even if we have to set up a table and chair in the park and bring a pot of coffee and some snacks and some iced tea — that’s where we’ll have our peer group,” she said.
For information on On Our Own and how you can support, click here.
