News & Resources

Our Story

Pathways to Freedom began as the Pathways to True Freedom Foundation, a Peer Recovery Community Organization (RCO) serving justice-involved individuals and people navigating substance use and mental health challenges in the Twin Cities. Through years of direct service, peer mentorship, and deep community relationships, we earned something that cannot be manufactured: trust.

That trust is the foundation of who we are today.

Our Evolution

We changed our name and expanded our mission because our community’s needs demanded it. The people we serve don’t experience substance use, incarceration, or mental health struggles as isolated issues. They experience them as the compounded result of systemic racism, disinvestment, and inequity. So we evolved from a peer recovery organization into a comprehensive social justice and health equity organization one built to address root causes, not just symptoms.

Formerly: Pathways to True Freedom Foundation Inc. Now: Pathways to Freedom Social Justice & Health Equity

Mission

To dismantle the systemic barriers facing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the Twin Cities by providing culturally grounded healing, peer support, and advocacy that leads to lasting freedom and self-determination.

Vision

A Twin Cities where every BIPOC individual has equitable access to healthcare, justice, opportunity, and community — and where systemic racism no longer determines life outcomes.

Our Approach to Racial Equity

A short narrative section reinforcing the organization’s core thesis: that structural racism, under-resourced neighborhoods, limited healthcare access, discriminatory legal systems, and economic instability are the real barriers to freedom — and that Pathways to Freedom exists to confront them directly.