SOAR Madison

10/29/2025

Nearly 65,000 people in Dane County depend on FoodShare to feed themselves and their families. When those benefits end on Nov. 1 due to the federal government shutdown, The River Food Pantry will continue to do everything we can to support our neighbors in need.

But we can't do it alone — we need YOU to help us serve this significant number of people in addition to the 4,000 individuals we already serve each week!

Our free programs are available to Dane County residents:
🔹 Curbside Groceries: Non-perishable and perishable foods available for weekly pickup. Tues 9:30am–3pm | Wed 12–6pm | Thurs/Fri 10am–3pm

🔹 FAM (Family At-Home Meals): Freshly prepared to-go meals for each household member, available alongside curbside groceries. Same hours as above.

🔹 Pantry Express: A condensed grocery selection with no registration required. 3rd Saturday of each month | 11am–2pm

🔹 Munch: A mobile meal program delivering healthy meals to kids and adults in over 20 neighborhoods in Madison and Fitchburg. Schedule: www.riverfoodpantry.org/services/munch

🔹 River Delivers: Contactless grocery delivery (up to twice a month) for those who do not have transportation, do not have someone to transport groceries from The River for them, and do not qualify for other delivery services. Learn more: www.riverfoodpantry.org/river-delivers

🔹 ePantry: An online grocery ordering system that is available to use once a month. Sign up: www.riverfoodpantry.org/epantry

🔹 Food NOW (Nights or Weekends) — After-hours food lockers available when The River is closed. These are meant to provide a short-term, emergency supply of food to get through the night or weekend until we open again. Located in front of The River (2201 Darwin Rd).

In order to meet this increased demand, we need ALL the support we can get! If you are able to, please consider helping in one of the following ways:
💚Donate: www.riverfoodpantry.org/donate — 93 cents of every dollar donated goes to our programs and services!
🫶Volunteer: www.riverfoodpantry.org/volunteer — Over 300 volunteers are needed every week.
🥫Host a food drive or drop off nonperishable items at The River: www.riverfoodpantry.org/ways-to-support/food/in-kind-donations/
🗣️Spread the word: Every share helps connect a neighbor to resources.

Together, we can help make sure no one in Dane County has to choose between eating and paying their bills. Thank you for being part of this caring community🙏

10/29/2025

Join a collaborative team that is reimagining mental health! SOAR is hiring a Clinical Supervisor to lead and support our Community-Based Services team.

Requirements:
▪️LCSW, LPC, or LMFT
▪️3+ years in mental health
▪️Experience with Comprehensive Community Services (CCS)

We offer:
▪️Competitive pay ($65k–$70k)
▪️A flexible, compassionate, equity-focused work environment
▪️Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance
▪️6 weeks accrued PTO annually, with flexible holidays
▪️Short-term disability coverage
▪️Employer-paid life insurance
▪️Employee assistance program
▪️401(k) match

About SOAR:
Since 1997, we’ve offered community-based care services and support rooted in lived experience. We honor each person as the expert of their own life and, through radically new perspectives, create spaces for all to explore their unique vision of wellness. We provide care navigation that is flexible, compassionate, and unapologetically different.

Interested in joining our team? Please email your resume and cover letter to opportunities@soarcms.org.

Please share this post to help us reach more people in our community!

10/21/2025

📣 On November 5, Nze Okoronta, SOAR’s Executive Director of Peer Services, will join a powerful panel for IDHA’s 10th Decarcerating Care conversation, marking five years of reimagining crisis response beyond policing and toward community-based, survivor-led care.

Join the dialogue on what’s changed since 2020 — and what it will take to build non-carceral, liberatory care in today’s climate.

Exploring the trajectory of efforts to remove police from mental health crisis response since 2020 & how to advance non-carceral care today

10/14/2025

✊🏽 National Indigenous Peoples’ Day ✊🏽

Today, SOAR honors the Ho-Chunk Nation, the original stewards of the land now known as Madison, Wisconsin. Their sovereignty, culture, and resilience persist despite generations of displacement and erasure.

We stand in solidarity with all Indigenous communities, from coast to coast, demanding justice, the restoration and acknowledgment of land ownership, and the preservation of their cultural stories, not just today, but every day.

Send a message to learn more

09/30/2025

Life can be stressful — but you don’t have to navigate it alone. 💜

This fall, SOAR is hosting an in-person group designed to help you build resilience, find clarity, and feel more at ease. Check out the flyer for more details!

09/26/2025

At SOAR, your generosity matters and helps us keep our doors open. Visit soarcms.org and click "Donate" to learn more.

Thank you for being part of the SOAR community. 💙💜💛

Send a message to learn more

09/24/2025

Q***r Alternatives to Su***de (Q-Alt2Su) has a new name...and is now virtual!
💻🌈

Hosted by House Peer Respite, join us for this weekly support space to connect and build community with other q***r folks who get it.

Labels and diagnoses are not important — just come as you are.

💙 No cops or clinicians
🖤 No mandated reporting

To sign up, email Rylee Jenich, Solstice House Program Manager, at ryleej@soarcms.org.

09/17/2025

Members of the Wisconsin Council on Mental Health toured Solstice House Peer Respite today, then met at the SOAR office with our leadership team to discuss the transformative power of peer support, as well as the successes and challenges of role fidelity and practice.

Thank you for an engaging conversation!

09/16/2025

Come visit us at the JustDane Sept. Service Reentry Fair for our justice-involved community members. Learn more about SOAR programs and services, and maybe snag a stress squishy, too. 🦄✨