Andrew Tallman

Peer Mentor (He/Him/His) 🏳️‍🌈

Special interests: Mental Health | Autism & ADHD (Late diagnosed) | LGBTQIA+ | toxic masculinity repair | emotional intelligence and mindfulness

Andrew was born and raised (mostly) in the Chippewa Valley. He grew up in Chippewa Falls and attended area schools, graduating from Chi-Hi in 1997.

He went on to attend UWEC as a part-time student majoring in History, while also working many factory and production jobs and maintaining a relationship with his partner and their (now young adult) child. While he did not complete his bachelor's degree due to life circumstances, he did recently finish his associate’s degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Andrew had a difficult time growing up. He was born with undiagnosed autism and ADHD. He had trouble making and keeping friends and spent a lot of time on his own.

He also had a difficult home life. His father was an alcoholic, drinking to deal with his own stress and anxiety. His father’s drinking sometimes lead to incidents of domestic violence, with Andrew being the target of or witness to those incidents.

As a young adult, Andrew often struggled with finances, employment, and interpersonal relationships; his neurodivergence caused him to create maladaptive behaviors to deal with stress and emotional dysregulation.

In his spare time, Andrew is an avid consumer of all things history, particularly military history. He relieves stress by playing video games and is very proud of his extensive game collection.

Aside from his human partner, Andrew shares his home with two lazy old cats and hopefully in the future, more pet rats.

Andrew joins At The Roots hoping to make a difference in the lives of people of all ages. He brings a great deal of lived experience to his peer support role.

Andrew has dealt with substance abuse, domestic violence, poverty, sexual assault, anger issues, neurodivergent issues, and LGBTQIA+ issues. This gives him a unique perspective in relating to others dealing with these issues and helps him develop a strong sense of empathy and the importance of letting people tell their own story.

Whether peers deal with the issues he has experienced personally or just need someone to help them through a difficult or confusing time in life, Andrew is ready to employ his communicative and listening skills to help people deal with their trauma, stress, and life issues. By being a living example that it’s possible, Andrew hopes to help others find the courage to move forward in making a better life for themselves.