About VOCAl

What is VOCAL?

VOCAL is the Virginia Organization of Consumers Asserting Leadership.

Since 2001, VOCAL is a nonprofit organization of people in mental health recovery.

We are a statewide community, support network, social change movement and self-help education program. Our organization is created by and for people who have experienced emotional turbulence, mental health crisis, or extreme states of consciousness (commonly labeled as "mental illness”).

VOCAL focuses on creating broad-scale social change, as well as change in the lives of individuals. We work to transform the mental health system -- and create alternatives to the system -- by promoting mental health recovery, self-determination and peer leadership.

As people who have personally experienced mental health crisis, we work to create programs that respect the inherent worth and dignity of all people, regardless of their current or past mental state, diagnosis, or use of medications.

We value the worth and dignity of each individual, the right to self-determination, and the important contributions of peer support and self-help.
 

Is VOCAL peer-run?

Yes. VOCAL is currently 100% peer-run. All our staff and board members identify as people in mental health recovery.

What does VOCAL do?

The VOCAL NETWORK
The VOCAL Network operates out of the Richmond office, and provides resource and referral for regarding services and support systems for recovery available via telephone, email and appointment at the office. Currently, we support approximately 1300 members who have self-identified as consumers of mental health services. We provide twice-weekly email updates about opportunities for our membership via the Network Digest.We provide a quarterly newsletter.We provide an annual 3-day conference, offering approximately 35 workshops led by mental health consumers. This conference is attended by 300 to 400 peers. VOCAL staff represent Virginia’s mental health peers at the national consumer conference, “Alternatives,” usually in October of each year.Monthly meetings of Northwest Peer Connect for Region 1 mental health peers are held on the second Wednesday of each month from 1:30 to 4 pm.Monthly meetings of the Central Peer Connect, for Region 4 mental health consumers are held each month.Monthly phone conferences of VOCAL representatives for networking regarding recovery, educational, and advocacy activities. VOCAL representatives represent consumer organizations and mental health programs statewide.Advocacy training programs available upon request.We consult with individuals on advocacy efforts as requested.Support is given to advocacy work groups organized around specific issues related to mental health recovery, rights and needs of consumers on an as-needed basis.VOCAL Chapter development— consultation is available by appointment.There is a VOCAL presence at the Virginia Legislative session each year so that VOCAL staff may inform members about legislation affecting mental health consumers.

REACH (Recovery Education and Creative Healing)
We organize WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) facilitator trainings whereby facilitators are trained to lead WRAP groups in their area. We also educate people about psychiatric advanced directives and lead regional trainings that educated and enable consumers to return to their home communities with the ability to knowledgably assist other consumers write and enact their own psychiatric advanced directives.

The REACH program director also conducts outreach efforts to better educate people about mental health concerns and mental health recovery. Currently a focus of these outreach efforts is to bring recovery education to young adults and the program director is doing this by speaking and leading workshops and presentations at college campuses.

The VOCAL CO-OP
VOCAL provides ongoing technical assistance to thirty-five existing self-governed mental health programs and to peer groups interested in establishing new mental health programs. Throughout the year, the CO-OP provides: Support for Developing a Wellness Recovery Action Plan for GroupsConnecting Communication Workshops, usually in the SpringYearly Funds Development Workshop, usually in the FallCo-facilitation of Peer Leadership Retreats with Virginia’s Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery AllianceOutreach to community foundations to support mental health recovery programs on an ongoing basis, minimum of one meeting per month.Yearly needs assessments for peer-run mental health programs Support for applications for 501-c-3 status for peer-run mental health programsBoard Development workshopsYearly evaluation initiatives for peer-run programs

Firewalkers
Firewalkers is an arts, media and social justice project that redefines "mental illness" as a journey of altered states, emotional turbulence, ecstatic visions, crazy blessings, and mad gifts. We are engaged in community events and campus outreach. Through storytelling, photography, media engagement, book publishing, community art groups, trainings, and grassroots outreach, Firewalkers is changing the story of mental healthr.

VOCAL speakers are available to facilitate workshops on telling your story and naming your own Firewalk and its gifts. We also can speak to groups and classes about the vision and process of the Firewalkers project. Workshops are designed to shed positive light on the ways each of us overcomes mental illness. It has been presented at a variety of conferences with great success.

The individuals featured in VOCAL’s Firewalkers book are available for presentations to social work, psychology, and nursing students. It is a rare opportunity to have open dialogue and hear the perspective “patient.”