Jack Barquist

Peer Mentor (He/Him/His)

SPECIAL INTERESTS: PRIME for Life Instructor | Addiction Recovery | Youth Support | Art 

Jack was born and raised here in Eau Claire. He was active in the Immanuel Church Youth Group building houses for Habitat for Humanity and enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. He loved summers at the lake with his extended family. However, it was during his high school years that Jack began using alcohol and drugs as a way of coping with feelings of inadequacy and the grief associated with the loss and health issues of an overwhelming number of family and friends. 

After high school, Jack moved to Minnesota and attended Brown College for visual communications. When he entered the field, he was disappointed to find that everything was moving towards digital creation as Jack loved working with his hands to create art.  After the birth of his daughters, he became a stay-at-home dad. He valued spending time with his kids and being able to be there for them. Once his kids began attending school full-time, he began working in maintenance and construction while also creating and selling art. 

Family has always been incredibly important to Jack and when he realized his substance use was negatively impacting his family and their relationships, Jack did the difficult work of learning new ways to cope with his feelings so that he could be more present in the moments that meant the most to him. 

Jack joins At The Roots LLC with the hope that he can help others connect with their values and creativity so that they can build a life they feel is worth being present for. He loves to listen to people’s stories, learn who they are, and believes that everyone is worthy of love, respect, and being heard. 

Besides enjoying time with family, Jack spends his free time listening to music (everything from David Bowe to Sturgill Simpson), playing with his dog Floyd (named after Pink Floyd, obviously), and woodworking. He also still hates computers and just recently got his first smartphone. (The jury is still out on his feelings about that one.) Jack believes that creating art is central to his well-being and you can find his work at Apple Valley Orchard and Tangled Up in Hue.