About Us

Who Are Prosumers?

A Prosumer is a person who is proactive in their recovery and gives back to the community. We meet together to figure out how to live life in spite of any challenges we may face. We hold monthly empowerment meetings to gain skills to live a full life. People can find recovery on accident. We believe people need to find recovery on purpose. Click the green button below to find out more about the Prosumer Model. Click here to read the ethics of Prosumers.
Janet Paleo
Anna Gray

How we started

Janet Paleo had a suicide plan before the age of 5. By the age of 31, she was put in a hospital where she stayed for two years. She was told she was too severe to ever live outside the hospital. Lying to get out of the hospital, she spent the next ten years hiding from the world. She still wanted to die, so she had over 50 hospitalizations over the next ten years. Through a series of events, she found recovery on the day her grandson was born. She dedicated her life for others to find recovery, now not later. She is the one who declared that Recovery is Possible and recovery was available to all. People find recovery all the time on accident. It is time to find recovery on purpose. 

When Janet met Anna Gray, she was not yet in recovery. Anna was a mentor for Janet and encouraged her in her recovery. After the birth of her grandson, Janet and Anna joined together to have all people to find recovery. Starting Prosumers in March of 2003, Anna used her skills as a manager and trainer, to motivate this new group. Together they led the Prosumer group into a State wide Consumer group with the focus being on how to live life in spite of any challenges life has given you. While many groups teach you how to live with symptoms and such, we work on how to live life. 

Prosumers in Publications

Consumer-Operated Service Providers: A Peer Involved Study of Member Outcomes

by the team at

Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health

Steve Hicks School of Social Work

The University of Texas at Austin

H. Leona Peterson, Ph.D., LMSW

Amy C. Lodge, Ph.D.

Juli Earley, LMSW

Stacey Stevens Manser, Ph.D.

 Click Here

Issues of Mental Health Nursing
COMMUNITY AND SCHOLARS UNIFYING FOR RECOVERY

Download File

Prosumer Style 
A Power Point Presentation from the World Federation on Mental Health Congress in Hong Kong of 2007 

Download File

Prosumers mentioned in the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) Regional Consumer/Survivor meeting summary report. Check out our coverage on page 15, 19 & 20

CMHS Report
Prosumers and the Hope Family Health Center are partnering together, with other partners to run a Peer Warm Line. The grand opening was August 8, 2018 and made the front page of the McAllen Monitor. See article titled dis "New mental health prevention service arrives in RGV this fall" While the Prosumers are not listed directly in the article, we are part of this initiative.

We opened the Prosumer Program about a year ago and the District Directors, Elsa and Norma have done a great job growing this group. This also is our first bilingual group and Elsa(in pink) translates the newsletter into Spanish . 

Prosumers will be providing in kind support along with training and consultation for the Peer Warm Line. The warm line should be operational the fall of 2018.
Be Well Victoria holds a community support group
VICTORIA, Texas - Be Well Victoria organization held a community support group today.

"We are having our first support recovery meeting and its just a time to really get together and talk about our community and talk about those days that we feel like it, or we just can't get up and get moving, tells Jodi Sandoval, Community Health Worker. We also, talk about how do we get up and get moving. We recognize that we need support...all of us need support."

Jodi Sandoval a community health worker says that through community discussions she found that many people needed a support group to open up to.

"I know that sometimes it is the only thing that separates those who make it and those that don't. One of the things we've really heard in our community meetings is that we have a lack of support groups and resources," declares Sandoval.

So Be Well Victoria partnered with Prosumers International to start their support group. Prosumers gave everyone in attendance a shocking stat about people thinking negatively in life.

"When we hear something that we perceive as a criticism or disempowering we will let it in, and for every one of those it takes at least 21 things that we perceive as supportive or empowering to undo that one," explains the speaker.

So they told everyone to say "I live the life I love" out loud every day to train your mind to let all those negative thoughts go.

"We would love to just create a safe space where people can come out and feel valued and heard. And to have a support system, it's one thing to support yourself with people and its another thing to support yourself with the right people," smiles Sandoval. 

Some things talked about at the group even helped me, so I recommend others who are struggling to reach out to Be Well Victoria.

San Antonio Medicine

Prosumers in SA Medicine
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