Vocal Virginia Fall 2025 Newsletter

Advocating for Mental Health at the Virginia General Assembly

On January 26 from 8:00–11:00 AM, Vocal Virginia, Mental Health Virginia, NAMI Virginia, and Voices for Virginia’s Children are coming together for a powerful Mental Health Advocacy Day to amplify the voices of individuals, families, and communities across the Commonwealth.

This advocacy day offers both in-person and virtual options, making it accessible to advocates from every corner of Virginia. Participants will unite around shared priorities to promote strong mental health policies, increased access to services, and sustained investment in community-based supports.

To read more, please click here.

Now Hiring: Network Program Director

Vocal Virginia is excited to announce an opening for a Network Program Director, a key leadership role within our peer-led, statewide mental health advocacy organization. If you are passionate about systems change, community organizing, and elevating the voices of people with lived experience, this may be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.

The Vocal Virginia Network is our outreach, advocacy, and community engagement arm, connecting more than 2,000 members across the state. The Network supports adults with lived experience, builds emerging leadership, advances policy and systems change, and promotes wellness and recovery. The Network Program Director plays a central role in strengthening this work and expanding our statewide impact.

Vocal Virginia is a statewide nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals with lived experience of mental health challenges. Through organizing, education, and strategic advocacy, we work to transform individual lives, local communities, and Virginia’s mental health system. As the only statewide mental health organization in Virginia that is 100% staffed and governed by people with lived experience, we center peer voices in everything we do.

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Member Spotlight: Kelly Argueta

Kelly Argueta didn't set out to become a Mental Health Outpatient RPRS and Hearing Voices Network Facilitator at the Rappahannock Area Community Service Board. Like many who find their way into peer support, she arrived through necessity -- searching online for credible resources to help her son, who hears voices.

What she found changed everything.

"What stood out to me was the focus they have on validating their experience and normalizing it," Kelly recalls of discovering the Hearing Voices Network. "They asked 'what happened to you, not what's wrong with you.' HVN does not try to silence or fix

To read more, please click here.

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