VOCAL Hires Our First Full-Time Executive Director

Brian Parrish has served for three years as VOCAL's Interim Executive Director, and for seven years as the Program Director of the VOCAL CO-OP. As VOCAL's first employee, he helped build VOCAL into a strong statewide organization that works to create transformation in the Virginia mental health system.

Brian was a co-founder of REACH recovery education program, and the VOCAL Network statewide consumer network. He also co-founded and led "Two People Two Chairs", a mini-grant program that established 19 new consumer-run projects. Previously, he served as a Program Leader & Mental Health Advocate at On Our Own of Charlottesville, a peer-led mental health drop-in center. 

Working with consumer groups throughout Virginia, he has designed and led workshops on nonprofit program development, and he is the co-author of several toolkits, including Blueprints for Change: How to Become a 501c3 Nonprofit, which was recognized as a "Best Practice" by the Maryland Department of Mental Hygiene. 

As an advocate for system transformation, Brian is a member of the Virginia Mental Health Planning Council, the VOCAL Board of Directors, and the Virginia System Leadership Council. This fall, he received a Distinguished Leadership Award from VAPRA for "Demonstrating outstanding commitment to recovery principles and for providing a role model for others."

Brian writes: 

"It has been my great pleasure to accept the position of full-time Executive Director for VOCAL. I would like to thank the membership, board, staff and our funders for their enduring support and assistance during the past seven years, and I look forward to continued successes together. 

"I truly believe that VOCAL is doing groundbreaking work, and ultimately, that our efforts will transform Virginia's mental health system for all of us in positive ways. I especially encourage everyone to get involved during the current legislative session, and let your elected representatives know where you stand on urgent mental health issues.  Good luck everyone!"

Thank you to our supporters at Virginia DMHMRSAS for providing funding to make this position possible!

Program Updates

Below are news and updates from VOCAL CO-OP member programs. For contact information on any of these programs visit our Directory of Peer-Run Programs in Virginia.

* Central Peer Connect worked together to create a "Relapse Prevention List" which is published in the Network newsletter. CPC also decided to begin working  on the issue of transportation in central Virginia, with assistance from VOCAL Network Intern Carol Mclaughlin.

* Friends 4 Recovery in Chesterfield. Beginning January 4th,  this group will be meeting the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month. They are open to consumers from all areas, and able to provide transportation to Chesterfield County Residents.

* On Our Own of Roanoke Valley held it's first-ever fundraiser, which was a great success! There is excitement that new members are joining, more inquiries are coming in, and their Peer Support Program is offering positions for Certified Peer Specialists in the community for 2008! Executive Director Robin Hubert also produced a recovery CD. 

* WeCare celebrated its first year in operation on October 18, 2007, survived their first (successful!) audit, and notes that over 5000 participants signed in throughout the year! WeCare self-help groups are growing, and six WeCare participants have now graduated from the CELT program. GED classes start in January, and WeCare's Executive Director, Robin Hairfield, was accepted in the Peer Specialist Counseling training!

* On Our Own of Charlottesville had successful Thanksgiving and Christmas get-togethers in 2007. Volunteers donated gifts of basic supplies to give to area homeless. The center now has four full-time staff, a considerable growth over the past few years. They are offering peer support groups based on wellness and recovery. They have implemented acu-detox for folks who have addictions. You can also find a Reiki group, which is light touch energy work, at OOO of Charlottesville.

* Mindfreedom Virginia - At high noon, on Thursday, October 11 (so called Mental Health Screening Day) MindFreedom screened the office building of the American Psychiatric Association for normality. Four people in red rubber noses, white doctor's gowns, and brandishing for screening device a rubber plucked chicken, screened passersby on the walkway at the entrance of this building for normality. ~ Update from Frank Blankenship. For more information, see Frank's excellent article in the VOCAL Network News, or visit the MindFreedom website

Help Improve Emergency Department Services
~ from Susan Stefan, Center for Public Representation, sstefan@cpr-ma.org

I am interested in finding out about people's experiences in Emergency Departments throughout Virginia, and in particular the Bon Secours system. People's responses will be kept completely confidential. Suggestions for improvements, praise for particularly good facilities or people (and explanations of why an Emergency Department experience might be good or bad, and in what ways Emergency Department staff can help a person in crisis or make it worse). Thank you so much. People can respond by emailing me with "Virginia ED Survey" in the subject line. The more detailed the information, the better. 

I have been asked to help improve Emergency Department services to people with psychiatric disabilities by a hospital in the Bon Secours network in Virginia. I have always thought that the people who use the services provide a crucial source of information about strengths, weaknesses, and needed improvements at the hospital. I am going to use the information I receive to inform my suggestions to the hospital about how to improve their services.

Peer Program Directory

Peer-run programs are designed, led and governed by people who have been diagnosed with mental illness. To find out more, or to contact the programs in this newsletter, visit our Directory of Peer-Run Programs in Virginia.

Funding for Consumer Groups

The Regional Recovery Work Group has released a grant application announcing $345,000 in one-time funding for consumers and consumer-operated programs in Northern Virginia. http://pathwayhomes.org/Recovery.html

VOCAL Conference  

VOCAL statewide consumer/survivor conference will take place May 20 through 22 in Harrisonburg. If you would like to present a workshop or arrange for your group to meet during the conference, please contact  yolande@vocalvirginia.org
(877) 862-5638.

Meet Me at the Mountain Top

A publication of personal narratives from consumers in recovery from mental illness. Sponsored by: The Consumer Advisory Council of Region Ten CSB. If you would like a copy of the book, contact Debra Knighton cac@regionten.org.  

VOCAL Network Advocacy Team

The VOCAL Network is forming an Advocacy Team and welcomes new participants. Contact Bonnie at bonnie@vocalvirginia.org or (804)343-1777.

CELT Leadership Academy 

A free leadership training program for consumers in Virginia. Contact 804-257-5591 or at Sharon@mhav.org. February 25-29 in Virginia Beach, April 22-25 in McLean, June 2-5 in McLean  

VOCAL in the News!

An excellent article from the Daily Progress featuring Ann Benner & Brian Parrish from VOCAL and Frank Blankenship from Mindfreedom Virginia:
Read The Complete Article

Read recent issues of the CO-OP News:

http://vocalsupportcenter.org/news.htm