Mike Sommer
Certified Parent Peer Specialist (He/Him/His)
SPECIAL INTERESTS: Family & Parenting support | ADHD | Men’s Wellness and Mental Health | ANXIETY & DEPRESSION SUPPORT | Substance Use Challenges | Creative Arts
Mike comes to At The Roots LLC with a fine-tuned skill set that is perfect for this region. He was born and raised in Eau Claire and has lived and breathed the factory grind this area offers in abundance. He’s toiled through night shifts and swing shifts and picked up valuable life lessons along the way. While in those factories he was elected to different union positions which gave him the opportunity to help and advocate for his union brothers and sisters in need. He often had “unofficial” one-on-one conversations with co-workers about different topics from workplace issues to struggles at home to personal victories.
Mike has a deep, human understanding of drug and alcohol abuse and how easily it can happen. With compassion and empathy, he brings a no-judgment attitude to peer mentoring. He knows no one chooses addiction, and everyone wants to just be heard.
Mike fought an invisible gremlin for years without knowing it - ADHD. He was just recently diagnosed with ADHD in his late 30s and found it empowering. Without realizing he was even doing it, Mike managed to develop a number of coping mechanisms to help him manage his undiagnosed ADHD over the years and hopes to help others find an empowered, healthy path to recovery as well.
He knows what it feels like to feel misunderstood and sometimes confused about how to tackle the challenges in front of us and is excited to share some tips and skills with others in order to make it easier for them.
He believes creative outlets are an important key to a happy life. Mike loves music and has some really interesting “instruments” to help anyone be creative - even if they can’t carry a tune in a bucket! He sees the healing power in these unique tools when people’s faces light up and they can, at least for a second, not worry about the troubles of the world while they learn to tap into their creative side.
Mike is a Certified Parent Peer Specialist and much like a Certified Peer Specialist, a Parent Peer Specialist draws from lived experiences, with an emphasis on family dynamics. It is a certified position by the state of Wisconsin.
They are trained to work with the family as a unit, not just the individual moving parts. Parent Peer Specialists can help parents understand their children and family dynamics from an outside, trauma informed, perspective. Ultimately the family is the expert and leads the way to recovery, parent peer specialists just help facilitate the conversations and help them find the resources and information they need to succeed.
In addition to Parent Peer Support, Mike provides peer mentoring and support for individuals, life skill development, and community connection support.
In his spare time, he enjoys video games, disc golf, ax throwing, curling, and spending time with his son and wife, Renee. He likes most dogs, hates being cold or hot but has learned how to make the best of living in west-central Wisconsin.