Peer Voices of Orange County

The mission of Peer Voices of Orange County (PVOC) is to provide and promote an empowered and informed voice of, by, and for peers with lived experience in the behavioral health care system and in the community.

In December of 2020, PVOC was established by Co-Founders Orlando Vera and Johnice Williams. PVOC is a fiscally-sponsored project of the Players' Philanthropy Fund (PPF) with support from MindOC/the Behavioral Health System Transformation. Johnice and Orlando recognized a need for empowering peers and providing them opportunities to express their opinions, beliefs, feedback, and ideas to enact change. They recognize that change is difficult and that the concerns and opinions of peers are not being heard. They view this as an opportunity to implement positive, powerful change within the behavioral health community.
To support and empower peers, we offer four support groups: "Wellness at Work," "Emotions Anonymous," "Peer Empowerment," and the "Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance-Orange County" (DBSA-OC). All of these groups focus on building resilience in peers, emotional regulation, building coping skills, and developing problem solving skills. All services are free.
"Community Voices" is a weekly meeting that describes the services and programs of a community resource. Representatives from different organizations describe their services and programs. Attendees, who are typically peers, discuss how things are going in their lives.

Our top five accomplishments from the past year include:

1. We held three Community Engagement Meetings to gather feedback about the behavioral health care system from peers, family members and mental health providers.

2. We created a "Playbook" of research and data on peer-run organizations. Effective programs and models of best practices were studied. The advantages and disadvantages of various programs were presented.

3. We began offering four support groups to peers: "Wellness at Work," "Emotions Anonymous," "Peer Empowerment," and "DBSA-OC."

4. "Community Voices" began presenting local mental health resources in the community. A forum for peer check ins and discussion was established.

The following are our top five goals for the current year:

1. We will continue to offer our four support groups, which are responsive to the needs of the peers in our community.

2. "Community Voices" will continue to profile local community resources and provide a platform for peers to check in and discuss their challenges and successes.

3. Additional funding will be secured to fund our programs and advocacy.

4. We will develop additional programs to empower peers.

5. Relationships with new community partners will be formed for collaboration.

Our top five most pressing needs include the following:

1. Additional community partners with whom we can collaborate.

2. Formation of an Advisory Board.

3. Securing and attaining guidance and additional leadership from professionals and experts in the community.

4. An increase in the number of grant proposals that we submit.

5. Funding for staff salaries. Approximately $120,000 is needed.

We serve the Orange County community.

As the Co-Founder of Peer Voices of Orange County, I thank you for your interest in our movement. It is an honor to serve the behavioral health community and give a voice to some individuals who have not been heard. Our passion is advocating and communicating the needs and opinions of peers to the decision-makers in our communities' behavioral health system. Our experience, through our recent Community Engagement Meetings, is that peers and family members really appreciate being listened to, respected and asked for their feedback. It is a novel experience for some of them.
Our employment support group is unique and needed, as the unemployment rate for individuals with mental health conditions in California is extremely high. By supporting individuals with mental health conditions who are in the workforce and volunteering, we are helping them develop new coping skills, learn about new possible workplace accommodations, and build their resilience, which will help increase their effectiveness and productivity at work.
"Emotions Anonymous," "Peer Empowerment," and "DBSA-OC" are three additional support groups that we offer to peers at no cost. There are no financial barriers to participating in any of our programs. These three groups focus on emotional regulation, building resilience, developing coping skills, and refining problem-solving skills. They are empowering, healing groups.
We also offer a Crisis Counseling Program to assist with the depression, anxiety and fear of COVID 19.
"Community Voices" is a platform for community organizations to explain their programs and services.
A powerful, unique component of our organization is that we are all peers. All of us live with mental health conditions. We are a living testimony that it is possible to contribute to society and live a productive life while having a mental health condition.
We appreciate your interest in, and support of, Peer Voices of Orange County! Thank you!

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