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City Voices is special because it is a charitable organization run by mental health consumers for mental health consumers.
City Voices is now what our lawyer calls a “non-profit type b,” not yet tax-exempt. We now have our own commercial bank account with enough cash for almost another year of New York City Voices, the newspaper you have in your hands.
We function with the bare necessities: some cash on hand, used equipment, and three official board members. We have a lot of support from people, but not enough direct involvement. I do most of the work. If we are to help more people by expanding our reach, certain things need to happen such as:
**a space of 500 square feet or more must be donated to us for a year or so;
**consumers who wish to train other consumers must make a time commitment to City Voices;
**consumers who can share my responsibilities as editor in chief must get in touch;
**professionals in certain fields must join our board of directors; and
**grants must come in to support our work.
With a donated office space, we would train consumers in computer skills and in all of the work of City Voices, consisting of newspaper production, clerical skills and event planning. Even if you do not have many computer or clerical skills, get in touch if you are tired of the life you lead at present. Get in touch only if you are so tired of the kind of life you lead that you can make a very determined effort to start working for City Voices without quitting even if it is emotionally hard work. I guarantee that it will be, especially if you do not have a work history.
The benefits of volunteering with City Voices are:
**you will have something to do that benefits the mental health community;
**you can make friends;
**you will receive free admission to City Voices’ parties, conferences and other events;
**you can receive recognition in New York City Voices for your work;
**you can add skills and experience to your resume when you want to find a paying job;
**you can get a professional recommendation and a reference from City Voices; and
**there is a possibility of pay.
I personally benefited from many years of volunteering with City Voices for little or no pay. Even though I am still on SSI, I am happier than I have been in a very long time and you can be too. Someone very ancient and famous once said, “To work very hard for the mental health community is to work very hard for one’s own mental health.” Please get in touch without delay.