God has placed a burden on me to reach out to those who are too quickly forgotten and dismissed, those who are suffering with mental illness.  For many years I have prayed for God to open a door and provide a way for me to help bring people to a place of not just 'recovery', but wholeness.  I believe this prayer has been answered.  I have been selected to become a facilitator for the Hearing Voices Network (HVN).  

 

This network was developed out of a passion for helping those who hear voices or what the mental health community will refer to as "auditory hallucinations".  Most of these people are diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder, bi-polar, PTSD, and/or major depression.  Sadly those suffering with these conditions are often left feeling like they have fallen victim to a diagnosis and have lost all control of their lives.  HVN believes recovery is not only possible, but it is expected.  From this belief, HVN is able to bring hope beginning with helping voice hearers discover the underlining messages behind the voices they hear.  Through this process, what they have discovered is that the majority of voice hearers have actually been victims of trauma, often occuring in early childhood.  Once the trauma has been adequately addressed the voices begin to disappear or become benign to the point that they are no longer intrusive or threatening.

 

Since the early 1990's HVN has been practicing throughout the United Kingdom and has seen tremendous success.  Many of the voice hearers are able to recover and return to normal life.  Some have even gone on to become licensed psychologist who continue to help the community by doing ongoing research, providing insight, and therapuetic counseling to fellow voice hearers.

 

My local church is in the process of starting a Hope Center that will reach out to the homeless population of our city.   The reason for chronic homelessness in my city as well as many of the cities around the United States is due to substance abuse and pervasive mental illness such as schizophrenia. Once I become a facilitator we can begin holding these group recovery meetings, which will hopefully improve the outcome for those previously doomed to live in squalor and isolation.  

 

As it stands today, there are no HVN groups in the state of Indiana, and only a handful across the United States.  Please consider helping by making a donation today.  For those who may be thinking this is not an important enough issue to contribute to let me share a video with you that displays an average day for someone who hears voices and is under standard treatment (click here).  Is this how you would want your loved one to live out the remainder of his or her days? I believe not.  There is hope.  By participating in this support group with fellow voice hearers, where they are free from judgment and condemnation, they can begin their road to recovery.  Help us fulfill this great commission...

 

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised"  Luke 4:18.

 

I sincerely believe and have prayed that God will give back to you a hundredfold according to the amount you are willing to sacrifice today.  From the very depths of my heart I thank you for your willingness to reach out to these oppressed and hurting souls.