About Peace & Love Recovery
Recovery gave a life back. Now the mission is to help others find theirs.
Peace & Love Recovery is a Fort Lauderdale vision rooted in lived experience, dignity, connection, and the belief that people deserve real support when they are ready to ask for help.
Why This Exists
A mission shaped by lived experience.
For more than two decades, addiction controlled Justin Smitter’s life. He experienced the pain, isolation, hopelessness, and loss that substance use can bring, and he saw how deeply addiction affects families, workplaces, neighborhoods, and the wider community.
With the support of people who believed in him, Justin found long-term recovery. Treatment centers, 12-step programs, and faith are part of his personal recovery story. That experience changed the direction of his life and gave him a purpose centered on helping other people find the hope that was once offered to him.
Today, Justin is a Certified Recovery Peer Specialist. His vision for Peace & Love Recovery comes from a problem he has seen repeatedly. Resources may exist, but people often do not know what is available, how to access it, or how to keep moving through a system that can feel overwhelming.
The idea is simple.
Meet people where they are. Remind them that they are not alone. Treat them with dignity. Then help them connect with the resources, encouragement, and support that can move them toward recovery, stability, independence, and a healthier life.
Peace & Love Recovery is being imagined as a welcoming drop-in space where someone can ask for help without fear of judgment. The goal is not to simply give someone information. The goal is to stay connected, help them navigate options, and work toward a warm handoff to the service or provider they choose.
A vision for a different kind of waiting room.
The fundraiser describes a future where someone seeking detox or residential substance use treatment can come to the center, talk with peers and support professionals, and receive kindness and practical care while arrangements are being made. The vision includes simple comforts such as a hot meal, a shower, and fresh clothing when available, along with a calm environment that helps restore confidence and peace.
That vision is still being built. The center is currently in the startup and nonprofit formation stage, which is why community support is so important now.
Our Mission
Compassion first. Connection always.
Provide compassionate, judgment-free support to people affected by substance use and mental health disorders, using outreach, peer support, and lived experience to help people feel understood, respected, and connected.
Help people see that another chapter is possible, even when they cannot see it yet.
Treat every person with respect, regardless of where they are in their journey.
Lead with kindness and listen before trying to solve.
Recovery grows stronger when people are connected to one another and to resources.
Celebrate progress and support multiple practical pathways toward a healthier life.
Believe that people can rebuild lives, restore relationships, and move forward.
What Makes Us Different
Relationships before referrals.
The center is being designed around human connection and practical follow-through.
- A safe, welcoming, judgment-free drop-in environment
- Services built around lived experience and peer support
- People helping people who understand what struggle can feel like
- Meeting people where they are instead of expecting them to know the system
- Helping people navigate processes that can feel confusing or overwhelming
- Building relationships rather than simply providing referrals
Our Promise in Spirit
A safe place. Real support. Hope for tomorrow.
That is the feeling Peace & Love Recovery is being built to create, a place where someone can arrive carrying shame, fear, or uncertainty and be met with respect and care.
Support the MissionRooted in Fort Lauderdale
A local recovery mission built around local connection.
Justin was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, and Peace & Love Recovery is being developed with the needs of people and families across Broward County in mind.
The center is intended to help bridge the space between realizing that help is needed and successfully reaching the right recovery or community resource. That may mean helping someone understand treatment choices, connect with peer recovery support, identify practical resources, or find a provider that fits the next step.
Peace & Love Recovery is not being built to replace treatment providers, mental health professionals, hospitals, housing programs, or other community organizations. The vision is to become a trusted connection point that helps people reach those services with more support and less confusion.
Community-Centered by Design
A stronger network starts with stronger relationships.
- Build trusted relationships with recovery and treatment providers
- Connect people with mental health, healthcare, housing, and community resources
- Create opportunities for families, volunteers, donors, and local organizations to support the mission
- Keep dignity and lived experience at the center of how support is offered