About
What City Voices is All About
Our mission to empower individuals facing serious mental health and/or substance use challenges to live their best lives by cultivating a vibrant community that provides support, fosters engagement through enjoyable activities, offers valuable information, promotes mindfulness practices, and embraces holistic techniques.
Our vision a dynamic community of individuals who have faced mental health and/or substance use challenges, where mindfulness and artistic expression come together to cultivate a sense of inner peace, happiness, and self-love.
Our Founder: Ken Steele’s Inspiring Journey from Madness to Hope
Ken Steele was a man who not only battled with paranoid schizophrenia for over 30 years but also became a beacon of hope for countless others struggling with mental health challenges.
Ken’s journey began at the tender age of 14 when he started hearing voices commanding him to take his own life. For three decades, these voices were his constant companions, leading him down a path of hospitalizations, homelessness, and despair. Despite the immense challenges he faced, Ken found solace in reading and writing, which helped him cope with his hallucinations.
Ken’s experiences inspired him to become a powerful advocate for the mental health community. In 1994, he founded the Mental Health Voter Empowerment Project, which registered thousands of his peers to vote and educated them on the candidates. He believed that people with mental health challenges deserved a voice in the political process, just like other marginalized communities.
Ken’s passion for advocacy didn’t stop there. He began writing articles about the political decisions affecting people in the mental health system and collected personal recovery stories and poetry from his peers. This humble newsletter grew into a professionally printed newspaper called New York City Voices, which reached thousands of readers and continued to thrive even after Ken’s passing in 2000.
Ken’s memoir, “The Day the Voices Stopped,” is a raw and honest account of his journey through madness and hope. He bravely shares the details of his hospitalizations, the sexual abuse he endured, and the abandonment he felt from his family. Perhaps most poignantly, he describes the terror he experienced when the voices suddenly stopped after 30 years, leaving him to face the world without his constant companions.
Ken Steele’s legacy lives on through the countless lives he touched and the organizations he founded. His story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of advocacy. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, know that you are not alone. Ken’s journey reminds us that there is always hope, even in the darkest of times.
City Voices Today: Enhancing Our Quality of Life
Addressing Emotional Wellbeing
For individuals like us who live with low income, mental health, and/or addiction challenges, enhancing our emotional well-being is crucial. Here are some strategies that we use to foster happiness, peace, and joy into our lives:
1. Fun Activities and Events:
- We organize community events such as picnics, walks in the park, museum & art gallery visits, to foster a sense of belonging.
2. Performance and Visual Arts:
- We engage in artistic experiences through painting, drawing, music, and theater.
- We provide opportunities for self-expression, creativity, and a sense of purpose.
3. Volunteer Opportunities:
- We encourage participation in volunteer activities that connect us with our community.
- We foster a sense of meaning and purpose through giving back to others.
4. Support Groups:
- We create safe and supportive spaces where we share our experiences and provide mutual encouragement.
- We provide and receive peer support and access resources that can provide guidance.
5. Spirituality:
- We explore the benefits of spirituality and faith within the community.
- We provide opportunities for meditation, yoga, and mindfulness practices to promote inner peace and resilience.
Overcoming Challenges and Fostering Happiness
By implementing these strategies, we can ourselves overcome the challenges we face and cultivate a sense of happiness and fulfillment:
- Addressing Hardship: Acknowledge and validate the hardships we experience, providing empathy and understanding.
- Encouraging Participation: Promote active participation in activities and events to break down isolation and build a sense of community.
- Cultivating Smiles: Create a positive and uplifting environment where laughter and joy are nurtured.
- Fostering Peace: Establish calm and serene spaces where we can find respite and inner tranquility.
- Building Community: Emphasize the importance of community connections, fostering a sense of belonging and support.
Conclusion
Improving our quality of life when we face adversity requires a holistic approach that addresses our emotional well-being. Through the implementation of fun activities, performance and visual arts, volunteer opportunities, support groups, and spirituality, we empower ourselves to overcome challenges, experience happiness, and find peace and joy in our lives. By fostering a supportive and inclusive community, we experience profound emotional healing that makes a meaningful difference for ourselves.