About Us
VOICE
Our teams offer people the opportunity to be more informed about available services, connect to appropriate resources, and Voice their experiences and recommendations to improve services. Speaking out is both a right and empowering. We help people speak out through:
- Participating in surveys, focus groups and interviews
- Sharing their recovery/resiliency stories
- Disseminating reports developed from the surveys to providers, managed care companies, counties and communities to promote change where needed
VISION
Our Support Services offer people an opportunity to connect to a peer or a volunteer who supports the person to do one or more of the following:
- identify a vision of their future
- develop strategies needed to achieve goals
- overcome obstacles
- live out dreams
- build friendships
- enjoy life
Who We Are
Voice and Vision employees are smart, innovative, kind, resilient, respectful, and welcoming people who also happen to have personal experience with mental illness, disabilities, and addictions. Through our strengths, creativity, and unique experiences, we lead the way in designing services that promote hope, incredible resiliency, and dreams of a bright future.
Our Mission
Voice and Vision, Inc. challenges the human service system and the broader community to value the gifts and strengths of all people and to see and hear that labels of mental illness, addictions and disabilities need not stop people from living out their dreams.
Our Philosophy
Voice and Vision cultivates the inherent strength in the human spirit.
Voice and Vision believes in the limitless possibilities within each person.
Our History
In 1997, Voice and Vision, Inc. became a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization under the name of BC-CST, Inc. The newly established team responded to the advocacy need in Bucks County to capture the experiences of patients being discharged from state-run mental hospitals to ensure services in the community were meeting peoples’ needs. What an ingenious concept – it was their voice and the family voice that were missing in the development and monitoring of mental health services. BC-CST, Inc. was one of many teams in Pennsylvania who proved capturing these experiences was critical and had the potential to be transformative. This movement grew in the Commonwealth, which expanded BC-CST, Inc.’s scope to also interview children, teens, young adults, adults, and family members receiving services for developmental disabilities, mental illnesses, co-occurring disorders, and addictions.
As mental health and substance use services and supports became more recovery focused, mentoring and peer support services began to be highlighted and sought after. All BC-CST employees were people who have personal experience with mental illness, developmental disabilities, and/or addictions, so we were excited to expand into offering peer support services by implementing College Plus. Around the same time, staff began a peer support program at Norristown State Hospital through the “Campaign of Hope”, which continues today. In 2007, based on the organization’s history, growth, success, and the need for continued expansion, we changed our name to Voice & Vision, Inc., which reflected our new corporate identity, mission, and expansion.
The growth of Voice and Vision, Inc. continued throughout the years with innovative programs and increased education, support, and advocacy. By listening to the voice of individuals and families, we were inspired to develop the Help and Hope Guide Series. These Guides educate individuals, families, professionals, and community members about key issues regarding mental health, disabilities, and substance use so people are able to access critical information needed for their overall health and wellness, while offering personal stories that keep hope alive through all the ups and downs of life. Advocacy remains a core component of Voice and Vision, Inc. noted by Family Advocates program that offers coaching and support to apply practical tips in navigating systems and to help each family address their specific needs.
Voice and Vision, Inc. continues to gather the experiences of 1600+ people each year who receive services in Bucks, Chester, and Delaware Counties. Our systems’ advocacy work promotes change through taking the “patient experience” to insurance companies, County Officials, and others with influence who then incorporate our data in their review process to improve the quality of services. Voice and Vision, Inc. continues to expand our peer support programs located in Bucks and Delaware Counties too with the newest peer support program CompeerCORPS – supporting veterans.
Please see our Services and Successes links of our website for more information about our history and work. Thank you.
If you need help in any of these areas, contact us. We can help you find the help you need.
The Way You See
by Michelle T.
You will always believe that everyone can achieve.
You will never believe the phrase “don’t expect anything from me because I have a disability”.
You know the label is there, but it is about the people that you truly care.
To you a label will NOT be seen as something wrong, but our experience with it makes us strong.
You can see with more than just your eyes you can see from the inside. When it comes to things happening in people’s lives you want them to decide.
Your wait for this is long, and your belief in us is strong. You will always want to see that everyone has a chance to belong.
