Chad Schoen

Peer Support Specialist (He/Him/His) 🏳️‍🌈

SPECial interests: Youth support | LGBTQ+ | Mental health

Chad was born and raised in Neillsville Wisconsin. Being the youngest in a blended family Chad had the unique experience of growing up in a large family while feeling like an only child. This feeling only got worse after his parents divorced. Splitting his time between both parents left Chad feeling like neither house was his home.

Growing up, Chad was often the target of bullying and abuse, and with emotionally distanced parents, and no other support system he never learned healthy coping skills that were needed to navigate a difficult life. A childhood of neglect also meant that Chad’s mental illnesses would go unnoticed and untreated. Chad would go on to neglect his wants and needs like those around him.

Chad has a vast amount of lived experiences such as growing up gay in a small rural town, emotional trauma, neglect, abuse, growing up in a family with a history of mental illness, having a brother with addiction problems that he would lose to an overdose, an abusive relationship, and therapist trauma. Untreated mental health issues run deep in his family with multiple family members being hospitalized and losing people on both sides of his family to suicide. He has lived with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and OCD for most of his life.

Chad realized that to fully recover he needs to stop the cycle of neglect and discover who he is. Now he can allow himself to enjoy the little things in life and has discovered his love for nature and photography. When he needs time for himself, he can be found sitting in a coffee shop downtown or out hiking trails. He can go from searching antique stores for vintage cameras to working on his car. He is working towards a bachelor’s degree in psychology with the hopes of earning his master’s degree in the future.

Chad’s unique lived experiences have taught him that the mental health field is complex, should not be a one size fits all experience, and recovery is on the terms of the individual. He looks forward to working with people where his unique history and experiences can be beneficial to helping others grow into the people they want to become.