Help your clients find the community they need.
So no one goes under.
"This is the challenge for our modern world… How can we ensure connectedness and a sense of safety and belonging for everyone?"
- Dr. Bruce Perry
What Happened to You?
Social support is one of the most important (and neglected) parts of our healing practice as humans. Study after study – expert after expert – confirm that strong relationships are vital to our health and longevity.
We are a processing group/community working to change the way the world does connection. We're making peer-to-peer support normal and accessible – giving everyone a safe place to share what’s really going on in their lives and receive empathetic feedback.
Step 1
Complete our “fit quiz.” Shouldn't take more than about 10 minutes – we just want to make sure we’re right for you and you’re the right fit for this community.
Our free online group means 24/7 opportunity for connection and support.
Think of it like a Facebook group, but private, more safe, and entirely focused on mental health and connection. We host The Raft Project community on Mighty Networks, so members can connect with each other outside of meetings and keep the party going.
Our community is governed by a set of guidelines that we call our framework. It's how we keep the vulnerable things safe.
Step 1
Complete our “fit quiz.” Shouldn't take more than about 10 minutes – we just want to make sure we’re right for you and you’re the right fit for this community.
Mutually supportive weekly meetings to give and get support.
All of our meetings are structured using our tool for connection: REALs. It makes connection a little more approachable when we know the format. It's the same...every time. We Rate our week (1-10), Explain our rating, Ask for the support we need, and then Listen for a takeaway that would help get us through.
There's usually four of us to a group, and each of us get 15 minutes for ourselves.
Peer-to-Peer Support
This is different than making friends at a hiking group or a pottery class.
We get straight to the real stuff.
FLEXIBILITY
Members can join as many or as few meetings as they'd like, and each person's time is self-directed through our format.
FOCUSED TIME
We all need the space to process what's really important to us (maybe more frequently than we can afford through therapy sessions).
PRACTICE
Mutually beneficial, supportive relationships with healthy boundaries aren't as common as we'd like. This is a space to try them out.
CAMARADERIE
There's power in, "Same, bro, same." We don't feel so alone or broken when we realize that other people are going through stuff too.
If your clients need a better support system, we'd be honored to be that community.
We don't believe finances (or a lack of finances) should bump anyone out of the support they need, so our community is free.
Here are some of the things that make us different.
We're a new kind of support group.
We don't have a religious or
spiritual component.
We are a wildly diverse and inclusive community.
We have no agenda besides strong social support.
Our goal is to be
member-moderated.
Members are so welcome to share their experiences, beliefs, spiritual journeys (or lack thereof), but our only focus as a community is social support and connection.
Unlike many support groups, we don't segment people based on life stage, gender, addiction, etc. If you're an adult who can follow the rules...you're welcome here.
This is not a course. There's no start date, program, lesson plan...nada. We aren't trying to change people. Only to learn relationship skills through modeling and practice.
As we grow and practice together, our goal is that every member has what they need to facilitate meetings and keep a safe space. Until then, meetings are led by Andy.
This is a community they should never have to leave.
Changes in your religious beliefs, career, location, addictions, life stage, or growth goals shouldn't mean you have to change support systems too. We'll be here through all of it.
We are free. Connection shouldn't be behind a paywall.
Our groups provide diverse, objective feedback.
Members don't have to be emotionally fluent.
People tell us all the time that we're undercharging, but we only what we have to to keep this going. We know what it's like to miss out on the support you need because of money.
When we're going through sh*t, it's so nice to talk to people who aren't a part of our daily circles. They're not affected by our decisions – they just offer wisdom from life experience.
Our REAL format allows people to share what's on their mind without needing to "label" their emotions and experiences correctly. This makes it great for newbies.
Oh, you want, like, the nitty gritty inner workings?
Man, your attention span is amazing. And you're in luck. In this video, we'll talk through format, framework, and group guidelines/moderation.
Read about our REAL format, or experience it for yourself!
Ask us all the questions.
We know you won't refer your clients to anything you're not 100% sure about, because we wouldn't either. Conversations are our no. 1 favorite thing in the world, so ask us all your pressing questions.
Call Andy
480-269-0420
DM Us
Hi, we're the Izards.
Founders + Facilitators
We are authors, speakers, founders, and facilitators changing the way the world does connection. Along with creating a safe space for real conversations in The Raft Project community, we've poured our hearts into our Amazon bestseller, Good, and You? How to Get Real Support Instead of Faking It.
After Andy’s prolonged mental breakdown in 2017 led him to lean heavily on 12-step programs, we stumbled into the life-saving power of good community. In 2018, we doggedly pursued an open support group concept to process what we were experiencing as entrepreneurs as well. We knew we needed support – what we didn’t expect was to find so many others looking for the exact same thing.
Having completed five years of testing and practice, we officially founded The Raft Project in 2022. We cannot express how much the people in this community have changed our lives for the better.
While Kayla has BA in Communications and Andy in Psychology, this movement is built mostly on lived experience and an unwavering passion to do good for other people and ourselves. Thank you for being here...seriously.
Andy + Kayla
P.S. While we are responsible for the safety and direction of this community, we are not therapists, gurus, or coaches. There's no hierarchy. We are equal participants, and the wisdom and support from this community has been a wildly positive force in our lives.
Diedre L.
"This project is amazing. I love you. Now excuse me while I go scream from the rooftops about The Raft Project! Because we the people need it."
If you sit across from your clients and think...
✔ I'd love for you to be able to practice boundaries.
✔ Wow, you need friends (or better friends).
✔ You need to know you're not alone in this.
✔ It would be so great for you to support others.
✔ Damn, you have no one to talk to besides me.
✔ You just lost your entire support system.
We would be honored to have them here. Send the following link to your clients to join our online community.
Read our manifesto!
Our Amazon bestseller, Good, And You? How to Get Real Support Instead of Faking It, is a relatable walk through social support and the role platonic relationships play in our health (mental and physical).
But it's not just a thought piece. We walk readers through our format and framework for safe connection, and address common fears and pitfalls around emotional support.
