How does community shape the life you’re living?
Belonging & Becoming (B²) is a three-year longitudinal study exploring how our connections to others affect our sense of flourishing—and why that looks different for everyone. We're inviting 1,000+ people to help us find out.
B² focuses on people impacted by substance use, mental health challenges, criminal legal system involvement, and social disconnection. We know community-based support can help, but there's still very little long-term research on how it helps these groups, or why it works better for some people than others. B² is here to help close that gap.
B² measures "flourishing": a way of looking at how people are doing across six key areas of life.
Flourishing isn't something we achieve alone. The people around us, the communities we belong to, the opportunities we have to contribute and support others, and the conditions we live in all play a role. B² is designed to understand exactly how.
Flourishing, and what shapes it
Research built alongside the very community it serves.
Scientific advisors, lived experience advisors, and trained Peer Researchers have each helped shape B² and remain involved as the study unfolds across the US.
