Tag: Recovery

The Season of Harvest and Thanksgiving: Celebrating Gratitude and Growth

Written by Valerie Melroy on November 25, 2025.

showing sunflower with wheat - growth and joy

As I write my last blog as the Executive Director of Voice and Vision, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Thirty years ago, we were a team of five part-time staff in a small office in Bucks County with two computers and three desks, while compiling CST (Consumer Satisfaction Team) data by hand. We were excited to be part of pioneering something in its infancy in Pennsylvania: people with mental health challenges interviewing people who had left state hospitals, and those living in the...

Awe of Nature

Written by Robert Karchnyak on July 25, 2025.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend actress Lili Taylor’s book launch at the Discovery Center in Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. There, she shared with the audience what brought her to the wonderful world of birds. On a break from acting, she sought the quiet of the Hudson Valley, where she owned a home and noticed bird songs. She found herself drawn into “a parallel universe,” one that was “full of life and the will to survive” (Turning to Birds, p. 5,...

College Plus – From Feeling Broken to Breakthrough to Triumphant

Written by Susan Benzie on February 28, 2025.

“Voice and Vision was the launch into all my accomplishments. I can never forget those experiences at Voice and Vision. I genuinely felt heard. I went from feeling so small to feeling bigger and bigger.” Recently, Ezri, a former College Plus student, met with us to say “thank you” for the role Voice and Vision played in her success. We are grateful to Ezri for allowing us to share her story with all of you. Ezri struggled as a youth with mental health challenges, repeated...

Go Out and Touch Some Grass!

Written by Robert Karchnyak on October 25, 2024.

On Saturday, September 28th, we gathered in the parking lot of John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. Many residents of Philly and its surrounding suburbs consider it a treasured sanctuary. A chance for an urban dweller to, “go out and touch some grass.” There has been a fair amount of research that shows a correlation between time spent in nature and an overall reduction of stress. Birding happens to be the perfect activity to put that correlation to the test. It grants you the opportunity to...

All It Takes Is One Person

Written by Leesa Forst on May 24, 2024.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Since its establishment in 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month has brought awareness to the challenges faced by millions of individuals living with mental health conditions and to celebrate recovery. As President Biden (2024) stated, it is also a time “…we recognize the bravery and resilience of the tens of millions of Americans living with mental health conditions, and we show our gratitude for the dedicated mental health professionals and devoted loved...

MORE THAN BULL’S-EYE RASH AND JOINT PAIN: LYME DISEASE AND NEUROPSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS

Written by Susan Benzie on May 17, 2024.

May is both Lyme Disease Awareness Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. What is the connection? The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 476,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme Disease each year in the US. In 2022, the states with the highest number of Lyme disease cases were New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently alerted individuals, providers, and caregivers that reported Lyme disease cases have increased this spring and...

The Power of Gratitude in Your Life

Written by Olga Antonyuk on November 22, 2023.

November is National Gratitude Month. What is the meaning of Thanksgiving, gratitude, or giving thanks in your life? What does it look like for us today? The simple act of giving thanks can easily be overlooked in a world often bustling with the pursuit of progress and success. However, expressing gratitude is a powerful exercise that can benefit our well-being and the relationships we cherish. At its core, giving thanks is about acknowledging the positive aspects of our lives, big or...

Awareness. Appreciation. Honor.

Written by Valerie Melroy on May 26, 2023.

May is a month with over 100 celebrations, some for a day, a week, and some for the month. Here are a few: National Blessing Day, Wordsmith Day, World Hand Hygiene Day, Brain Injury Awareness Week, Deaf Awareness Week, Sign Language Week, National Anxiety Month, National Blood Pressure Month, and Older Americans Month. The 100+ are focused on categories such as awareness, children, culture, education, food, health, history, religion, and more. Two of the many month-long celebrations are...

Celebrate Spirituality

Written by Valerie Melroy on April 7, 2023.

Right now, three major world religions are celebrating some of their most important holidays: Passover/Pesach- Judaism; Good Friday and Easter – Christianity; and Ramadan – Islam. In less than a month, two other major world religions will celebrate holidays as well: Buddha Purnima – Buddhism and Ram Navami – Hinduism. Just think – billions of people in the world around the same time are celebrating holidays that help to shape their beliefs and traditions and relationships with their God and...

Bringing Awareness – Recovery Through Friendship

Written by Olga Antonyuk, Compeer Director on September 30, 2022.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month and National Recovery Month. Voice and Vision, Inc. attended four events during September to share resources and stories of recovery. Our ongoing work through programs like Compeer and CompeerCORPS and our Help and Hope Guide focuses on spreading awareness about mental health, substance use, and suicide with the hope people will get help and support when needed. Suicide is highly linked to mental health diagnoses such as anxiety,...

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