VA Consumer Presents at VOCAL/VA

Steve H., proud to help others

Steve H. has been a consumer at Fellowship Health Resources Virginia since January 2008. Currently, he is living in a three-bedroom home with two other men who are also in mental health recovery. Steve had his “outbreak of symptoms” during the first year of classes at the Eastern Virginia Medical School. “The structure and support from Fellowship Health Resources’ ISLS Program has greatly assisted my recovery for the last two and a half years,” Steve reports. “I’ve made excellent progress.”

In his years of receiving mental health services, Steve has presented workshops and spoken at several important mental health recovery-based conferences, including the VA Psychosocial Rehab Association (VAPRA). Earlier this year, Steve conducted a well-received workshop at the Virginia Organization for Consumers Asserting Leadership (VOCAL/VA) conference at George Mason University.

The workshop was entitled “Learning to say Thank You; and Some Other Important Strategies for Mental Health Recovery.” During the seminar, Steve passed out a 24-page packet with an outline of the discussion and other pertinent information. A significant point that Steve highlighted was that “when people are in therapy for a long time and see other counselors for a long time, it tends to make us self-centered. It’s good to learn to appreciate what we have and what the world has given us.” He talked about “learning from experience,” recalling how he has “spent over half my adult life in dozens of facilities both in Virginia and out of state” and has received “over 300 forced injections.” This experience was surmised in poem that recounted how “throwing away Lithium bottles (has been) my biggest menace.” Steve estimated that he has taken “over 100,000 pills,” and reports that, during his life, he has “had some political commitments and harsh treatment.”

Steve is “thankful for everyone who has helped him along the way.” He does his best to be a good citizen by doing volunteer work and serving on advisory councils, including the Northern Virginia Regional Community Support Center, and the recently formed Fellowship Health Resources Consumer Board. Through his personal experiences, Steve has found that “Northern Virginia is a hotbed for mental health and recovery programs.”